


The Disappearance of Mike Wheeler

by manchu2018



Series: The Invictus Initiative [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Horror, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2019-08-16 22:02:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 30,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16503518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manchu2018/pseuds/manchu2018
Summary: Its summer vacation time for the Party. Set two months after their London adventure, the Party wants things to have a semblance of normalcy. What transpires changes the Party forever, making it a summer none of them will ever forget, no matter how hard they try.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to the Invictus Initiative so although its not mandatory I would still advise that you read that first to know who some of the characters are and the events which are mentioned in the story. This will be a prologue, and then a longer chapter on the next post.

Summer 1985  
Mike woke up with a gasp and fit of coughing. His head pounded, and his sinuses felt like it was on fire. He tried to gather his wits and get a sense of his current predicament. The room he was in was dimly lit by the light filtering in from the hallway outside the door. Mike sat up on the edge of the filthy bed that smelled old and musty. Mike reached out and felt the cool wall under his fingers as he made his way to the door which contained a grimy window at eye level and a slot in the middle. Mike tried to clench his eyes and will himself awake. He was certain this was a nightmare and he was in fact at his home in bed. He would have to tell his friends about this one and about how lifelike it felt. When Mike reopened his eyes and finished pinching himself, panic began to seep in. This was no nightmare, at least not in the conventional sense. 

Hello?” Mike said as he felt for a door knob, but not finding one. The room had no other windows beside the one in the door, so he had no idea what time it was or how long he has been in this prison. It was the concept of the room being a prison that worried him the most. He was alive, so someone wanted something from him. Mike being a natural tactician, tried to figure out the particulars of his confinement. As he pondered his situation a calm yet horrifying voice sent chills down his spine.

“Hello Michael” said the voice which Mike knew well but refused to believe he was actually hearing. After all dead people can’t talk. Mike looked through the dirty glass and saw the impossible. Standing at the door dressed in a business suit with a cane was none other than Dr. Martin Brenner. “No, no no, you’re dead!” Mike yelled. He saw the beast from the upside-down tackle him to the floor as the Party fled from the carnage at the Hawkins laboratory. “How are you here?” Mike asked feeling his knees go weak as he almost slumped to the floor. “All in due time Michael, but first we are going to talk, you and I, we’re going to have a nice long talk and you are going to tell me about my Eleven.” Brenner said as he prepared to leave. Brenner turned and said over his shoulder, “You are going to be here for a long time Michael. You may as well get comfortable.” Brenner chuckled as he thought of the many ways he planned on breaking Mike Wheeler. How much time he would have with him was predicated on how long Eleven would take to come back to him. 

Mike felt sweat trickle down his face as his desperation reached its limit. For a person who at times seemed fearless, who stared death in the eyes as he made a leap off a cliff to save a friend, who would rush into certain danger to save another; has suddenly and overwhelmingly become very intimate with the topic of fear. Mike did the only thing he could think of; he screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party makes plans to go to the lake, but there is a saying about best laid plans isn't there?

Two Hours earlier

Dustin Henderson was frustrated beyond belief. He absolutely hated it when he could not find something. In this case the object which eluded him was his snorkel. “Mom! Have you seen my snorkel?” Dustin yelled from the inside of his closet. “No Dusty, I don’t know where it is, but if you cleaned up that pigsty you call a room you would be able to find it” his mother yelled back. “Son of a bitch” he muttered to himself. Dustin groaned and looked at his turtle Yurtle. “C’mon help your old pal Dustin out. I know you saw it”. Yurtle looked at him disinterestedly and turned his head to look elsewhere in the room. Dustin heard his radio crackle with Mike on the other end. “Hey Dustin, you gonna be at the lake on time? And oh yeah if you are looking for your snorkel, which I know you are tearing your closet trying to find, you left it on the table at the end of our last campaign.” 

Dustin grabbed the radio saying “You let me tear apart my room looking for the damn thing when you could’ve spared me the trouble. Some friends you are.” “Shut up doofus and meet us at the lake” chimed Lucas who answered on his supercom. “Wait how you going to get mad at me? Next time I won’t say shit” Mike said sounding a bit annoyed. “Ok I’m on my way. Meet you there. Over and out”. Dustin grabbed his bookbag, stuffed his towel and supercom in it, as well as his headset. He then went downstairs to the kitchen to grab some snacks. “Ok Mom, I’m heading over to the lake. Ill be back later!” Dustin grabbed his bicycle, heading out the door, not knowing the nightmare he was walking into. When Dustin finally returned home, he would be far different than when he left.

Lucas Sinclair was excited beyond measure. This was the first day of summer vacation and he was about to spend it with his friends and the girl of his dreams. Lucas would never admit it, but he had it bad when it came to one redhead named Max Mayfield. Just thinking of her would put a goofy smile on his face and if truth be told he really didn’t mind the teasing from his friends. After the events in London his feelings intensified especially after Max put her well-being at risk to find out who was stalking them, with her efforts resulting in a sprained shoulder and fractured pinky finger. Lucas remembered the cover story the Party came up saying she was doing tricks on her skateboard and suffered a nasty fall.

Thank goodness Max didn’t wear shorts or someone would have saw the different scratches and bruises that would have made the fall story impossible to tell. Lucas also wanted to see Max in a bikini; his hormones was going into overdrive and he had to calm himself as to not get an erection. Lucas grabbed his gear and headed towards the door. On the way out, he heard his parents discussing the lack of progress for African Americans, but happy things were not as they were when they were growing up. Lucas didn’t dwell on racism but did think of Max’s stepbrother as his parents chatted. “I’m heading to the lake!” Lucas called out. He didn’t wait for a response as he jumped on his bike and headed out. When Lucas finally returned home, he would have an incredible (and frankly impossible) story to tell about his first-hand brush with racism and how he almost lost his life on several occasions. It was a story he could never tell his parents no matter how much he wanted to, and it was one that changed Lucas’s life forever.

Will Byers was becoming more annoyed than words can describe. He was anxious to head to the lake, but his mother Joyce was seriously considering not letting him go until she could get there. Will glared at his mother saying “Mom, the lake isn’t even that deep. I know how to swim and there will be a lot of us there. How is it going to look If you’re there hovering over me? “Joyce looked at Will and contemplated his words for a moment. She knew she was being a pest but after what her son went through, he was lucky she wasn’t attached to his hip. Joyce couldn’t believe she let Will go to London, but she did, and everything turned out all right, although Will and Hopper did act a bit strange when they got home.  Jonathan came into the kitchen saying “C’mon Mom, Will’s already depressed that he hasn’t received a letter from his British girlfriend, let him go to the lake so he can snap out of it a little bit” Jonathan winked at Will. “She is NOT my girlfriend!” Will yelled, blushing furiously.

Jonathan knew any mention of Millie was enough to make Will turn beet red. Joyce laughed and ruffled Will’s hair. “Calm down Will.” Joyce sighed and finally relented. “Go ahead but I want you back home before dark”. Joyce thought to herself that it was just a swim in a lake she had swam in herself as a young girl. Nothing too drastic should happen. Will quickly grabbed his bookbag with his towel and assorted snacks in it and headed to the door before Joyce could possibly change her mind. When Will finally returned home, he will have faced his greatest fears and almost succumbed to them. To say he would never be the same would be a severe understatement.

Max was feeling content; her crazy stepbrother was nowhere to be found and her mother wasn’t pestering her with questions about her injuries again. Max was looking forward to spending some quality time with Lucas at the lake and having fun with her friends. The last two months were uneventful but tedious as they all studied for their final exams. Max waited for her mother as she was going to drive her to the lake and arrange a time for pick up. As she walked out the door to the car, Max felt an appreciation for the nondescript house and a sense of belonging. She was slowly but surely looking at Hawkins as home and not as a holding area with a fake family she had to put up with before she headed back to California. Somehow, she had found a semblance of a real family. She had Lucas and the rest of her friends to thank for that. If Max had any idea what the future held for her, she would’ve run back to her room, never left it, and called her friends to tell them to do the same. But since she didn’t have any idea, Max was all smiles as the car left the driveway. As the car traveled down the road and her house faded from view, little did Max know that she would never see that quaint little house again.

Mike was feeling a little anxious. He couldn’t wait to teach El how to swim and show her how much fun frolicking in the lake could be. He and his friends made their mini pilgrimage to the lake at the beginning of every summer vacation. Since they always went early the Party had first dibs on the lake and got to spend time there before everyone else.  Mike’s raging hormones made him want to feel El’s lithe body in his hands as he taught her how to swim with perhaps a feel on her lower regions. Mike snapped himself out of his horny little fantasy and knocked on his sister Nancy’s door. No answer. He made his way down the stairs and saw Nancy reading a magazine at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes. “Hey where’s Mom?” Mike asked. Nancy looked up with a smile “Well hello Mike. Someone looks all excited today. Going to put the moves on El today?” Mike gave her an annoyed look and flipped her the bird. “No, I’m just teaching her how to swim” “Oh is that what it’s called?” said Nancy, causing Mike to blush. “Whatever Nance, so where’s Mom?” “She left a note saying she was delivering some Green Bean Casserole to Yvonne”. Mike gave her a puzzled look. “Who’s that?” Nancy shrugged “I don’t know, one of her new friends, I guess. She has so damn many, I lose count.” Mike grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on a counter and munched on it. He walked into the living room to see his father in his usual position; on his recliner watching television. “Hey Dad, I’m heading out, be back soon.” Mike took off before his dad could mumble out a response.  

Mike rode off on his bike down the familiar dirt road leading to the lake. He didn’t notice a white van sitting parked a few yards away. He also didn’t notice the van pull out slowly after passing it. Mike sped down the road until he came across two people who appeared to be jogging. One was on the ground holding her knee while her male companion looked on worriedly. Mike pulled up on his bike asking, “You guys alright?” The male responded, “I think she tore her meniscus or something she twisted her knee when she tripped over one of those branches”. Mike looked on warily; something about these two didn’t seem right. The lady moaned in pain muttering “Is there a place with a phone? I’m need an ambulance or something. I can’t walk out of here”. Mike turned and pointed back in the direction he came, “There’s a store about half a mile or so up that way. I can go grab some help.” As Mike pointed, he saw the white van approach down the road. Mike suddenly had a sense of déjà vu and realized he was in serious trouble. As he tried to pedal away on his bike, he was tackled to the ground by the man, and his miraculously healed friend jammed a foul-smelling rag on his face. Mike struggled for a few seconds, then everything went dark. Mike would have to wait a bit longer to teach El those swimming lessons.

El was on top of the world. She finally had an opportunity to leave the cabin and spend time with her friends outside. Any time she could do this without Hopper reading her the riot act and stopping her made El very happy. Plus, Mike was going to show her how to swim and the Party would show her all the joys of the lake. She was excited when Joyce came over to take her to the new mall, so she could buy her swimsuit. Since this was the first time El ever been to a mall, she walked around looking wide eyed at all the activities and stores. She even saw Steve Harrington as he worked, serving ice cream. He gave her a cone “on the house” as he called it. El hoped he wouldn’t get in trouble for doing that as Joyce seemed concerned about the free ice cream.  Hopper knocked on her door; “Ready to go kid?” Hopper didn’t mind her going to the lake since it wasn’t easily seen and somewhat isolated. It also wasn’t too far from the cabin, which gave him a little peace of mind.

El happily ran to Hopper’s jeep and Hopper smiled seeing how giddy she was. Hopper started the engine and prepared to drive out, hoping the day would be a quiet one as he broke in two new police officers. Hopper would go on to experience one of the more harrowing days of his career and one of the more dangerous weeks in his life. Quiet however, was not in the cards. By the end of the day, El would know terror once again, and realized that this time, her abilities may not be enough to overcome this newest challenge.

On a little airfield in an undisclosed location in Russia, Vladimir briefed a team of twenty elite Spetsnaz soldiers before they all boarded a plane that waited on the tarmac. Vladimir heard of Sasha’s failure and felt a sense of satisfaction. That prick was always overrated, Vladimir thought. Vladimir was briefed on Sasha’s experiences and instructed by his command to travel to Hawkins and retrieve Jane Hopper by any means necessary.   He was also sent to find anything he could about the Invictus Initiative and see if it can be duplicated. Vladimir was sent to command the team personally due to his brutal yet effective way of accomplishing his tasks; the KGB tried using a scalpel the first time as they sent in Sasha, now it was time to use a chainsaw. Vladimir made a vow to his leadership before leaving, he would either bring El back dead or alive, or he and his team would leave Hawkins a smoking ruin of a town. Vladimir would happily kill anyone that stood in his way; in fact, he was quite looking forward to it. He rubbed his hands as he settled into his seat for the long flight to the United States. Vladimir smiled thinking: _finally, it begins_. By the time Vladimir and his crew’s reign of terror ended, Hawkins Indiana would never be the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Martin Brenners past revealed and a bombshell lands in the present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter serves as a bit of an origin story for Martin Brenner and why he became what he is in the present. WARNING: GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF RAPE ARE IN THIS CHAPTER. This is a very dark chapter covering a very dark part of history. You have been warned.

Mike sat in his room/cell wondering how long he had been imprisoned there. _My friends would have known I was missing by now_ he thought. His optimism fell to despair as he realized his friends had no idea where to look. _El can find me in the void but she can’t tell where I am_. Mike racked his brain to figure out his location, so he could send El some sort of clue. He thought at first that he may was back at the old Hawkins laboratory, but that place had been gutted. Everything was taken out of there. As Mike analyzed his predicament, two of Brenner’s men came and unlocked his room door. “Come with us” one of them said. Mike recognized him as the “jogger” on the dirt trail. Mike walked down the dimly lit hall, observing the walls which looked dusty but in good condition. Whatever this place was, it was still in good working order.

Mike entered a room which was more brightly lit than the hallway. It appeared to be some sort of briefing room with a large table and a film projector on top of it. Mike paced the room nervously as he saw Brenner walk in. Brenner had a pronounced limp and looked a little worse than he did earlier. There was a sheen of perspiration on his forehead which made him look more ghastly than usual. Brenner sat down in one of the chairs and implored Mike to do the same. “Ill stand” Mike said defiantly, sounding far more confident than he felt. “Ah Michael, I know you look at me and you see the devil incarnate, don’t you?” Brenner said in his eerily calm voice. “You don’t understand, I do this for your benefit, your friends and families benefit. There are monsters in the world that would see our way of life ended. Our country in ruins.” Brenner looked at Mike, his gaze intensifying as he spoke. “I understand all too well what happens when the monsters are allowed to run free and wreak havoc. I understand what its like to be too weak and helpless to be anything except its victim.” Brenner shifted his position in the chair, “Let me tell you a story about a time when monsters roamed the Earth, and how it could have ruined me if I let it. “

_Germany 1938_

Eight-year-old David Martin Brenner was a shy boy living in Kaiserslautern with his parents Abraham and Sarah and his two sisters Ruth (his twin) and older sister Matya. His parents tried to shelter them from the events occurring in their homeland but on one fateful evening in November 1938, his somewhat tranquil existence would be shattered forever. Martin heard a loud knock on the door of his home that evening with a voice hissing “Abraham let me in quickly, it's me David”. Abraham opened the door hurriedly as a short middle-aged man came inside, his winter coat wrapped tightly around him with his collar shielding his neck from the cold. “What’s going on?” Abraham asked speaking low as to not worry his wife. “We have to leave right now, get your belongings, whatever you can. Hurry!” David said. Sarah heard the commotion and ask worriedly “What happened?” “Some fool shot Ernst Vom Rath” David replied. Abraham came down with hastily stuffed suitcases, giving one to each of the children telling them to get winter clothes to pack. “You mean the diplomat?” Abraham asked. David answered “Yes if he dies, they will use that as an excuse to do more. You have seen the recent temperament of people around here. Saul was beaten to a pulp yesterday as he walked home from work. Shops were broken into and set on fire. We have to get out of here.”  Martin struggled with a suitcase that was almost as big as he was and headed out the door with the rest of his family into a future so dark it was beyond his comprehension.

For several months the Brenner family moved from home to home as they and other Jews fled from German prosecution but after stopping at a home near the Polish border, their luck finally ran out. German soldiers kicked in the door, shooting the first two Jews that they saw. David was eating his soup when the first volley of bullets turned his head into a pulpy mess. A woman who was placing his bowl at the dinner table was flung over it as a result from the hail of bullets. The Brenner family along with 10 others were rounded up and taken to the Krakow ghetto in Poland. For two years they stayed there living in the squalor and filth of the ghetto with barbed wire fences and guards keeping them there. It was at that time Martin came across a monster in human form named Klaus Becker. Becker was a SS officer in charge of keeping the ghetto operational and the inhabitants pacified.

Becker came to their quarters on a cold and blustery day in March looking for men to work in the adjacent fields for farming and industrial workers. Klaus beckoned David and Martin to come with the soldiers but before he left his gaze lingered at Matya. Klaus walked slowly towards her and rubbed his hand on her face murmuring “Very pretty”. Sarah stepped in between them, pushing Matya back towards her sister Ruth. Klaus glanced and Sarah for a second then back handed her across her face. David ran towards his wife to hold her as she fell to the floor. “Why would you do this?” Abraham asked. Klaus regarded him for a moment before calmly saying “Because I felt like it. Let us be clear, you do not move unless I tell you to move. You worthless scum will be brought to heel and exterminated like the vermin you are. Now get up and head outside.” Abraham stood up slowly making sure Sarah was ok as he helped her to her feet. Abraham nodded towards his son as he headed outside. As he walked past Klaus to the door, Klaus calmly pulled his pistol and said, “To show you the sincerity of my words let me impart this lesson upon you.” Abraham turned around in time to see Klaus pull the trigger spraying his brains on the wooden door. Sarah screamed running to her dead husband's’ body. Martin stood rooted in that spot mouth agape as he saw his mother and sisters crying. Martin was too stunned for tears. His father was gone. Klaus walked outside to get some of the other men who were rounded up earlier. “Come put this trash in the back of the truck. Come on boy let's go”.

Martin worked in the fields for the next few weeks cultivating farmland for the SS troops. It was a bleak and tiring activity, but he was heartened at the sight of a pretty young girl named Helena. The first time he saw Helena she was handing out water to the workers and soldiers in the field. Her eyes caught his as he grabbed his cup of water and since they were two of the youngest people working in the field, they gravitate to one another. Helena was a petite raven-haired girl with striking grey eyes. Martin thought they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, and his heart fluttered when she made her visit. They were not allowed to talk to each other but the all too brief seconds seemed like hours to the two of them. If they made it out of the camps one day Martin would certainly pursue a relationship.

Klaus seemed to notice the burgeoning friendship/relationship and made plans to impede it. On her usual beverage run he would order her to skip Martin as he would hand the water to Martin himself. Usually after pouring some out on the ground. One day Martin gave Klaus a withering glare after Klaus gave him his water, which earned him a hard slap in the face from Klaus. “Don’t you stare at me mongrel. I see you are still defiant. Even after seeing what happened to your father. I am going to have to change your attitude.” Klaus kicked Martin in the stomach while he was on the ground making him wheeze and gasp for air. Klaus beckoned some of the SS guards to his side. “Let’s go mongrel. We are going to correct this situation right now”.

Klaus went to the quarters the Brenner’s shared with three other families. They basically lived on top of one another with barely any room to sleep. Klaus told the Brenner family to stay as the others were forced out at gunpoint. “Go get that Helena girl and bring her here” Klaus ordered one of the guards. Sarah jumped in front of her son, “What happened Herr Becker? I’m sure whatever it is we can work this out, he is just a boy, please have mercy.”  Klaus looked at her with a wicked gleam in his eye, “Oh don’t worry we will fix your sons behavior problem today. He will not talk back to his betters, he will do as he is told, and he will comply without delay!” The guard returned with Helena who looked visibly frightened. “Martin? What is going on?” she asked. “What happens next is all your fault boy, remember this lesson well.” Klaus looked at Matya with a lecherous smile “Thank Martin for this gift you are about to receive”. He quickly grabbed Matya and dragged her to a table that was in the living area. Matya struggled and screamed with Sarah offering herself in her place. “Take me Herr Becker she has no experience, I can please you far better than she could” she said desperately. Klaus put a finger to her lips saying “Shh quiet, if I wanted you I would have you, but I am going to take her instead. If you move or speak, I will have turn on your other daughter.”

Sarah backed away and looked at Matya, sweet pretty Matya who had dreams of getting married and starting a family one day, Matya who was three days shy from her 18th birthday was about to endure the worst possible crime to be visited upon a woman. “Be strong Matya” Matya nodded her head grimly as Klaus grabbed her by the hair and pushed her over the table. Martin cried harder than he ever did in his life as Klaus ripped Matya’s underwear off exposing her pale buttocks as he undid his pants with a shove, he rammed himself inside her grunting like an aroused animal. He pounded her until she couldn’t hold it in anymore and she screamed out loud. Matya’s scream broke Sarah and she shoved Klaus off her daughter. Klaus comically hit the floor with his pants by his ankles and a look of fury on his face. A guard pulled her back and punched her in the face. Martin jumped on the guards back from behind. Ruth bit the other guard as the Brenner family tried to fight back.

The guard pulled Martin off his back and kicked him across the room. Helena screamed as she witnessed the entire spectacle wondering why was she brought here to see this? She made a vow to never see Martin again and volunteer to work at the factory. She didn’t want this happening to her family. Klaus rose to his feet, pulled a large knife from his boot and plunged it into Sarah. He ripped into her belly as Sarah looked down at her stomach in shock. Klaus looked at her whispering “No, no you filthy Jewish bitch, you’re not dying that easily. The last thing you will see is me taking all of your children.” Klaus proceeded to take Ruth, all nine years old and force himself on her. The guards dragged Martin closer forcing his eyes open to make him watch his twin sister being raped. Klaus told the guards, “Help yourselves men”. The guard that was restraining Martin whispered in his ear, his hot breath making his skin crawl. “I wonder how tight you are. You are going to share your sisters’ pain.” The guard pulled down Martin’s trousers, laughed and proceeded to rape him. Martin felt the world slow down and a pain he could not describe shoot through his anus. Martin remembered the laughing intermingled with the screams of pain from his sisters. Sarah Brenners last sight before passing from this life to the next was seeing her family all being raped before her eyes. Sarah prayed they would all burn in hell before her eyes closed and mercifully, she was gone. After what seemed like an eternity Klaus and his men left the quarters leaving the Brenner children to crawl over to their fallen mother crying over their loss and the events of the night. Helena quietly left the Brenners to their grief. None of them ever saw her again.

Several years passed as Martin lived in the ghetto. It was a miracle he had survived thus far. Klaus didn’t send him to the concentration camps because he enjoyed torturing Martin and his sisters. Matya tried to be strong but after repeated visits from Klaus and one particularly brutal night when 5 SS guards took turns on Matya, she was a broken young woman. Matya cried herself to sleep every night and would pray for death. Martin had grown taller but remained skinny due to the horrible living conditions. One day Matya begged Martin to kill her. “Please Martin I cannot do this myself. Just put a pillow over my face. Do this for me, I want to be with Papa and Mama again. I volunteered to go to the camps, so it can end, and Klaus just laughed at me. I’m begging you, if you love me please help me”. Martin slowly nodded, contemplating on what he was about to do. Later that evening as Ruth slept on the floor with the children from the other families, Matya and Martin walked over to a secluded corner of the quarters with a pillow. Matya looked Martin in his eyes saying “I’m sorry to ask this of you, I know its unfair. I love you both.” Matya laid down and with a serene expression closed her eyes. Martin placed the pillow over her face and held it there until she stopped moving. Martin quickly turned his head when he heard a noise near him. A young man saw what had happened. He nodded and sat down with his violin to play a mournful tune. Tears streaming down his face he checked to see if she was breathing. She wasn’t. Matya Brenner was gone. Eleven-year-old Martin Brenner, who just euthanized his sister, made a vow to not spill any more tears and find a way to escape from that hellish ghetto.

Martin awakened the next morning to find both of his sisters were gone. Matya’s body was removed and his sister Ruth was rumored to have been taken to Heinrich Himmler. Himmler wanted to create a master race, a theme that Martin himself would take up later in life. It could be argued that Himmler inspired Martin to find that elusive master race. Martin realizing that his twin was probably dead or dying, made his plan to escape. Certain SS guards had a fancy for young boys; Martin knew this first hand as some repeatedly used him for their pleasure. Martin knew the spot in the fields where the guard would have his way with him. Martin studied the patterns of the guard shifts. Martin knew that the guard would never suspect that a scrawny kid would be plotting his demise. As expected, when the guard saw Martin, he pulled him to the aforementioned spot in the fields. In his lust the guard never noticed the piece of rusted pipe that laid next to Martin. A little souvenir from a short stint working at the factory that certainly came in handy on this day. As the guard thrust his cock into Martin’s mouth, Martin bit down on it hard. The guard yelped and pushed Martin off. Martin quickly reached down, grabbed the pipe and bludgeoned the guard to death. Martin then took off running into the woods.

Martin didn’t believe in God anymore, but he did appreciate his good fortune as he made it to another town before being spotted by a German family who did not agree with the extermination of Jews. That family who was leaving the fighting and heading to England took Martin with them. Martin Brenner had finally escaped from hell. He lost his entire family but instead of being distraught, he used this as motivation. Motivation to become smarter, to exceed in his classes, to move to the United States to attend college and to become one of the youngest men to gain a doctorate and become a renowned scientist and psychologist. It was his technical acumen that garnered the attention of the government, and he along with four other talented scientists created a program that would keep America safe for all time; the Invictus Initiative.

 

_Summer 1985_

Mike stood transfixed as Brenner told him his story. Mike wasn’t sure he could have survived what Brenner did and maintain his sanity. “Sorry for what you went through but experimenting on people is still wrong” Mike said, “I’ll never help you get El back”. Brenner looked at Mike and chuckled. “Let me ask you a question Michael. Why are you so devoted to Eleven?” As Mike prepared to answer, Brenner interrupted him “None of it is real Michael. It’s a byproduct of her abilities. She can keep you emotionally intertwined with her and you would never know it.” Mike slowly sat down in one of the chairs. His throat was dry and voice shaky “None of it is real?” Brenner smiled “No Michael, none of it”.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brenner continues his mind games against Mike and Hopper interacts with his new officers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time serving as a set up to the craziness about to ensue.

“Well where the hell is he?” Dustin asked as he stood by the tranquil waters of the lake. The Party minus Mike stood by chatting idly while waiting for him to show up. “I say we get started without him” Lucas said. “He’s probably trying to figure out which trunks don’t make him look like a skinny geek”. That earned a rebuke from Max, “As if you’re one to talk. Are those He-Man trunks you got on there Stalker?” Lucas looked at Max with an annoyed look “Please, these are fly, and you know it” “Dream on Stalker, dream on”. El ignored the banter as she started to get worried about Mike. “He should have been here by now Will. Somethings wrong.” Will looked at El trying to find some words to reassure her but failing miserably. “Well we know the route he takes when he usually comes here, let's go see if we can find something”.

As the Party searched for any clues leading to Mike’s whereabouts, one of Hawkins Police department’s newest officer walked outside the station taking in the sights and sounds of the town. Nathan “Nate” Crow walked over one of the patrol vehicles in the back, absentmindedly kicking the tires and waving at some of the citizens. He had been in town for a few days but was already considered a heartthrob by the high school girls, and some older women certainly had some ideas in mind for him as well. The 22-year-old Native American had movie star looks, standing 6 ft 2 with his black hair and smooth features. Nate had recently been discharged from the Army after serving as an infantryman and didn’t want to return home to South Dakota. So instead he decided to go out on his own and forge his own path. He was always seen as a bit of a loner and rebel. The screech of tires behind him heralded the arrival of his boss Jim Hopper. Hopper got out of his jeep and headed inside the station. Flo immediately walked over and grabbed his cigarette, stubbing out in the ashtray as he gave him a run down of the days scheduled events. “Your new officers are here Hop, Nate’s outside and I think Phil has the other one. Probably hazing him or something”. On cue Callahan walks in the door trailed by a smaller man carrying two cases of bottled water. “Put it over there rook” he commanded. The “rook” in question was Dean Simmons, a 25-year-old college graduate moving back home after attending Indiana University for several years. He was a stocky man with an amiable personality, but a bit too straight laced; which made him the butt of all of Callahan’s pranks and hazing.

“Ok cut the shit Callahan” Hopper grumbled “You were saying Flo?” “Old man Peterson is hearing funny noises in the woods. He swears it feels as if something is moving underground over there” Flo replied. “Yeah last month he was seeing bright lights in the sky and thinking Mars was invading”. Hopper grumbled. Two older women entered the station looking to “file a report” with Officer Crow. Hopper rolled his eyes when he saw the pair; those two were old enough to be his mother. Guess horniness knows no age limit. Hopper retreated to his office where he opened the window and proceeded to light up another cigarette. Hopper wondered if Simmons could make good coffee?

The Party arrived at the trail Mike would take to get to the lake. Dustin noticed the van tire treads on the ground and grew apprehensive. “I can see bike tracks mixed in with these other ones. The problem is I don’t see it going past this spot” Dustin stood at the spot where (unbeknownst to him) Mike was taken. Lucas, Max and Will all search the surrounding area to no avail. El wore a look of determination as she tried to keep from panicking saying “Let’s go to his house. I’m going to find him”.  Wordlessly they all trudged up the trail, making their way to the Wheeler residence.

Mike sat still listening to Brenner’s claim that El manipulated him into friendship by using her abilities. “You’re lying” he said with a look of disgust. Brenner brown eyes gazed at Mike with an indescribable intensity. “Come now Michael, you know its true. Think about it, you all took in a strange looking girl, hid her from your parents, the government, and other family members. Why? Because you didn’t have much of a choice.” Brenner’s words were clearly influencing Mike as he glanced at the floor and shifted his stance slightly. Brenner kept pushing at Mike’s mental defenses; “You want to know how Eleven escaped from the Laboratory? It's very simple really. She was let out. We had a few of the orderlies who couldn’t resist her abilities and helped her flee the facility. They showed her where the drain pipe to the surface was and they made sure she left undetected. Ask yourself this question Michael; how would she possibly know which one of the hundreds of pipes in the facility would lead to the outside? “Mike slowly sat down in a chair, shoulders slumping in a sign of defeat. Brenner almost cracked a smile. “No need to be embarrassed Michael; if it's any solace I don’t think she does it intentionally. I think it's more of a self-preservation mechanism. One of the things that makes her so brilliant, and yet so dangerous. It's why we need to get her back. And we will Michael, oh we most certainly will”. Brenner stood up motioning for the guard to take Mike back to his room/cell. Mike walked away looking shell shocked as he processed what Brenner told him.

When Mike was out of earshot Brenner told his associate Jansen, the tall brunette woman who pretended to be injured, the following: “Prepare Three for the breaching. Take the proper precautions, you know once she awakens, time will be of the essence. If she is awake a minute longer than necessary, she could kill us all, and she would do it very slowly and very painfully. Do not make any mistakes. Am I clear?” Jansen nodded her head. “Crystal sir.” Jansen went about her tasks leaving Brenner to his thoughts in the hallway. Brenner did not fear many things, but the thought of Three awake, unchecked and unleashed sent a chill down his spine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven enters the void and walks into a nightmare. Brenner uses a living nightmare in his quest to recapture El.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far. It's about to get more intense from here.

Dustin knocked on the door to the Wheeler residence, hoping anyone but Nancy would answer the door. He could easily fool Mike’s parents, but Nancy always seemed to know when he was up to something. As his luck would have it, Nancy opened the door with a puzzled expression, “What’s up Dustin? I thought Mike was with you guys.” Dustin stammered slightly “Uh he is, but he forgot to bring a jacket and an extra towel. You know he gets, a stiff breeze blows, and he suddenly has pneumonia. Since I had to go back home to grab some snacks, I told him I would stop by on the way back.” Nancy shrugged her shoulders and let him in, “Go ahead and tell Mike I said to stop being such a pus um I mean wimp”. “Go ahead Nancy you can say it, he’s a pussy.” Dustin said with a toothy grin. Nancy still couldn’t get used to Dustin’s full set of teeth but chuckled at Dustin being so thrilled over them. “Hurry up Dustin I’m heading out the door.”

Five minutes later El has Mike’s t-shirt in her hands as the Party stands in the woods approximately a quarter mile away from the Wheeler residence. El shuts her eyes and concentrates, she feels the familiar sense of weightlessness as the world goes dark. She sees Mike sitting on a bed of some sort looking scared and depressed. Mike’s haggard appearance makes El gasp and force down a sob in throat. “Mike? Where are you?” she asked. Mike raises his head “El is that you?  You must get out of Hawkins, He’s here! “Mike’s voice is drowned out by a sound which could be described as a guttural roar, mixed with pain and rage. El looked to her left and saw a light slowly breaching the pitch blackness of the void, and to her shock she saw the person she feared the most standing over a blonde-haired girl on a gurney. “Papa” El whispered. She fell to her knees as Mike implored her to run. El did what she was told and pulled herself from the void. El opened her eyes muttering the same word repeatedly “Papa, Papa. He’s alive. Papa’s alive.”

Max turned to Lucas to ask about Papa to see his face contorted in shock. Dustin wore a matching expression. Will asked both of them, “What’s wrong with you guys? You act as if you just saw a ghost.” Dustin looked at Will glumly “Yeah I think we have. If Brenner is alive, we are all in deep shit. And if he has Mike then I don’t know what to do.” El took a deep breath, wiping the blood from her nose. “There was something else in the darkness with me. A bright light. I’ve never seen that before. It came from a girl on a gurney in a blue colored room. I have seen that room before.” “Well do you know where that room is? Maybe Mike is there; we can call Hopper and get to him” Lucas chimed. “That room was in another complex. It was a backup one in case the Laboratory ever failed or was destroyed. It was in the woods next to a creek. I was sent there a few times. I remember Papa calling it the Shed.” El stood up with a sense of purpose; “I remember where it is. We need to go”. The boys picked their bikes off the ground with Max and El riding with Lucas and Will respectively as they pedaled off towards the Shed. What none of them saw was an angry and visibly distraught Nancy Wheeler hiding behind a few trees listening to the entire conversation. Nancy walked in the opposite direction to her home to call Jonathan and find out where her mother was. She was going to have to cut her visit with Yvonne or whatever her name is short.

Karen wasn’t visiting Yvonne, nor did she have a friend by that name. Karen was actually at a seedy motel room, in the middle of a raging orgasm as she collapsed down onto the chest of one Billy Hargrove. Karen had been seeing Billy for a little over a month and the sex was some of the best she ever had. Billy awakened emotions out Karen that she had not felt since her college days. Karen looked at Billy with a sultry smile saying, “My turn.” Karen pulled Billy out of the bed, grabbed a pillow and sank to her knees stuffing Billy’s hard cock in her mouth. Slowly licking the shaft and balls before sucking the cock in earnest, stroking him faster. “Let me have it Billy, I fucking earned this load.” Billy grunted as Karen opened her mouth wide awaiting Billy’s seed. Billy moaned as he shot his load across Karen’s face. It was a spectacular amount of semen as some of it sprayed over her shoulder, with several spurts landing on her tongue. Karen quickly sucked the rest of Billy’s load out his cock and wiped some of the mess from her face, licking her fingers with a wink. Billy’s legs almost gave out as he sank on the bed of the motel they were in. “Shit Karen, I don’t think I’ve ever came that hard in my life”. Billy reached over to grab his pack of cigarettes. “Give me one” Karen said. Billy passed her a cigarette as he lit his. “Give me ten minutes and we can go one more round”. Karen looked at her watch. “As much as I’d love to have you keep fucking my brains out, I have to get back home. I’m shocked no one has caught on yet”. Karen thought about the flirtation between the two of them when they first met that slowly developed into wanton, lustful sex and became somewhat embarrassed and guilty. Ted may have been goofy and dull, but he didn’t necessarily deserve to be treated like this. _But damn I feel great_ , Karen thought. The sex was so good she never wanted to give it up. Karen quickly got dressed, made sure there wasn’t any stray semen in her hair or face, kissed Billy and left the motel room.  Billy smoked his cigarette thoughtfully, _I can’t go back to teen chicks after this._ Billy decided to head back home, where his day would take a decidedly turn for the worse.

Martin Brenner stared at the prone form of Naomi Smythe aka Three. So much power and potential marred by a split personality. Through his numerous experiments he had created his own Jekyll and Hyde. Brenner was astounded when he witnessed her raw ability. Three was the first to create an interdimensional doorway into the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. She did it by “ripping” the fabric between dimensions. Unfortunately for Three using her power helped create an alternate personality that would take over as a protector when Brenner forced her to do unspeakable things. That personality was an amoral killer who slaughtered over half of the guards in her facility in Pennsylvania before collapsing due to sheer exhaustion from the usage of her abilities. Brenner saw the carnage in that facility; the bodies were so mangled and distorted that it was hard to establish of the bodies were human. After that incident Three remained a medically induced coma, with the medication being eased enough to tap into her dimension access capabilities. Brenner would have need of those abilities very shortly. Brenner planned for the Upside Down to get some unexpected visitors. Soon Eleven would be in his possession again.

At a small airfield in the outskirts of Hawkins a plane loaded with trained killers landed. A youthful looking man walked towards the plane on the tarmac, waiting for the door to open. It opened, and Vladimir exited the aircraft to greet the man. “Hello Dimitri”. “Hello Comrade Pu” Dimitri was quickly cut off by Vladimir “Use first names only. Never any last names understood?” “Da Vladimir. My apologies. Everything is in order and we have a person that can keep us informed of any changes”. “Good Dimitri”. Vladimir turned to the Spetsnaz personnel saying “Prepare to move on the objectives within the hour. You all have your assignments. Do not fail, and if anyone gives you any trouble kill a few family members. This usually insures cooperation.” Vladimir wore a smile on his usually dour visage. _This is going to be fun_. He opened his dossier and went over the targets; Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Maxine Mayfield, James Hopper, Dustin Henderson, William Byers, and Jane Hopper. _Oh, we will be meeting you and your loved ones so very soon._

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vladimir's group spring into action and Brenner's sick plan becomes even sicker.

Nancy went upstairs to her room to call Jonathan who answered the phone on the first ring. “Jonathan we need to talk,  I’m on my way over to your house right now. Mike’s gone, somebastardnamedBrennerhashimandIdontknowwhattodo. “ Nancy said in a rush. “Whoa whoa slow down Nancy, I can’t make out what you’re saying. What do you mean Brenner has Mike? I thought he was dead.” Jonathan replied. “Well he’s not. He has Mike and if he’s as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be who knows what he’s doing to Mike? My moms not here and Dad wouldn’t believe me if I told him the truth. Ok I’m on my way”. Nancy hung up the phone, grabbed her car keys and raced out the door. Ted looked at Nancy curiously as she left and grunted, “Kids nowadays, always in a hurry”.

The Party had returned to Hoppers cabin as they made plans to find the Shed, the secret facility where Mike was being held. They were all gathered around the kitchen table peering at the local map. Lucas asked El, “Was there any sort of landmarks that you can remember? Like an old dead tree or anything?” El shook her head, running her hands through her thick unruly mane of hair. She racked her brain trying to remember the location or something that could help her find it. “Well if it’s a full powered secret base, where is the power coming from?” Dustin mused. “You’re right Dusty, that thing would need to use a load of power” Max said. El perked up saying “Yes there was some sounds I used to hear as Papa took me inside the Shed. Maybe we could hear it again.” Max headed to the door exclaiming “Lets go”. Will put up his hands urging everyone to slow down “Look we need to get some flashlights in case it gets dark out and like it or not we gotta tell Hopper.” El looked at Will morosely, “I’ll call him before we leave. Look in the cabinet in the living room Will, I think some flashlights are there.”

Hopper was outside enjoying the rather stress-free afternoon. Nothing too serious outside of the usual complaints of minor property damage and a fistfight at Hawkins High School. There was a distant rumble that sounded like thunder coming from the north that got his attention since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Hopper came back inside the station to see Officer Powell typing up a report at his desk. “Hey Powell, you hear that just now?” Powell looked up “Yeah it sounded like thunder, what about it?” “It aint scheduled to rain so where did it come from?” Hopper said. Powell stood up and walked towards a window looking up at the sky. Suddenly the phone switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Flo answered the phone, and immediately went into a state of shock “Are you shitting me?” she said. Hopper and Powell turned and looked at Flo. She hurriedly jotted down information “Yes I got it, Im sending everybody we have. For god’s sake, be careful. Ok I got other calls, bye now.” Flo looked at Hopper with a solemn yet amazed expression; “There’s been an explosion, it was the Hargrove place. Its been blown to smithereens.” Hopper grabbed his hat and raced out the door, closely followed by Powell. “Tell Callahan and his crew to meet us over there”. “Sure thing Hop,” Flo said. As she coordinated the fire response and called Callahan, she didn’t notice a remaining blinking light on the phone that blinked a few more times before going out. 

_Twenty minutes earlier_

Susan Hargrove hummed contently as she stirred the ingredients for her German chocolate cake she was preparing. Hearing a car pull into the driveway she headed outside thinking that Neil wasn’t due home for another three hours. Two men exited the sedan and headed to the door; Susan stepped outside to greet them. “Hello, may I help you gentlemen?” she asked. A tall dark-haired man stood behind his shorter partner with a stony expression; the shorter one said with a Russian accent “Hello, my name is Anatoli and I think you can help me. I think your daughter may have seen this child.” Anatoli showed her a picture of a random girl at an orphanage. Anatoli needed a way to get Susan to not be too suspicious.  Susan looked at the picture and squinted. “No, I don’t think I have ever seen her, and Max hasn’t brought anyone like this over here. In fact, she doesn’t bring any of her friends over.” Anatoli tried to give a disarming smile that came across as creepy and somewhat lecherous. “Is your daughter here? Maybe she has seen her before and never thought about it.” Susan backpedaled slowly towards her door. She was about to say no and slam her door shut when she heard a familiar engine heading towards the house.

Billy turned onto the road leading to his home thinking of his recent romp in the sack with Karen and thought of how hard it was to keep a straight face every time he saw Mike in the street. _If that little pussy knew I was giving it to his mom, he would shit himself_ he thought. Billy absentmindedly wondered if Nancy was as good as her mother. He decided that he would have to find out sometime soon. Billy’s fantasies of running through the Wheeler women came to a stop as he pulled into the driveway where he saw two men talking to Susan. _Shit I hope those guys aren’t Jehovah Witnesses, I’m not in the mood to hear about being saved and all of that bullshit._ Billy hopped out of the car and noticed the duo didn’t look like any Jehovah’s witnesses he ever saw. “Hello young man, my name is Anatol; do you know where your sister is?” Susan interrupted Anatoli saying “Hey now I said I don’t know who that girl is and I would like you to leave right now. Billy looked at Anatoli “You heard her asshole get lost, and take that Frankenstein looking motherfucker with you. The Frankenstein looking motherfucker wordlessly pulled out a special silenced Browning automatic pistol and put three rounds in Billy’s chest. Billy eyes opened wide in disbelief as he crumpled to the ground. Susan mouth fell open and before she could scream Anatoli clamped his hand over her mouth and shoved her back inside her home. 

Mike sat in his cell with Brenner’s words running through his head. _What if its true? It makes sense; why would I let some girl stay in my basement that whole time? Why didn’t I tell my parents the truth? The only one who was against her was Lucas._ Mike was both embarrassed and enraged. Even if Brenner was telling the truth Mike couldn’t just shut off his feelings for El. The year they were apart was the most miserable time of his young life. He was headed in a downward spiral both mentally and emotionally. It was only El’s return that made him whole again. Mike could not walk away from her that easily. As he tried to clear his head, he heard the door open. Jansen and her partner named Pearson walked in the room. “Come on kid, Brenner wants you.” Pearson said. Mike stood up to leave when Jansen stuffed a chloroform filled rag in his face yet again. As Mike collapsed Pearson grabbed him before he hit the floor saying, “Brenner didn’t say he needed you awake though.”

Brenner surveyed the large testing chamber, with its grey concrete walls and floor. The special machine that would provide the energy needed to tap into Three’s power sat in the middle of the chamber with Three lying asleep on a gurney beside it. As he instructed the technicians on the final preparations, Brenner felt a sense of excitement. He was going to get Eleven back. Finally. Brenner was confident that Eleven would remember the Shed and make her way there. Brenner would have Three breach the walls between dimensions gaining access to the Upside Down, dump that boy Mike in there and make an offer that Eleven would not possibly refuse. Give herself over in exchange for access to Mike. Brenner was certain that her little friends would be there with her. They could go get Mike out while he takes Eleven away from Hawkins forever. When those children run in to get their friend, he would close the gate sealing them in the Upside Down along with Three forever. Brenner felt a sense of sadness regarding Three’s fate, but she was far too unstable and too powerful to keep alive. Brenner would finally have his revenge against the group he blamed all of his recent misfortunes on. Brenner smiled with a serene expression on his face. _Oh, we have so much work to do Eleven, and so little time._


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse for Mike. Nancy gets backup in her quest to find her brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time to set things up for bigger things to come.

Nancy pulled her car into the Byers driveway. She was so happy when her parents surprised her with the used Ford for her birthday, giving her a sense of freedom unlike any she felt before. She can go anywhere she wanted, when she wanted. Nancy hurriedly walked up to the front door to see Jonathan step outside. “Ok now what the hell is going on?” Nancy related what she heard the Party talking about as she spied on them earlier, (this time more slowly and clearly). Jonathan paced outside with a worried expression. “This is crazy. We gotta call Chief Hopper and let him know whats going on” “And tell him what Jonathan? We heard some kids talk about a secret lab located in the woods? That no one knows where it is?” Nancy said exasperated. “Wait, just hold on, didn’t Murray say something about a rumored back up lab when we spoke to him?” Jonathan asked.  Nancy paused for a moment, “Yeah he did, he said it was in the woods near the lab. He said if it did exist that it wouldn’t be too far from the original laboratory.” Jonathan rubbed his hands through his hair; “So we just have to check a near 5 square mile radius” he said sheepishly. Nancy’s mind was made up. “I’ll search a 100 square mile radius if it means getting Mike back”.  Jonathan look chastened as he said, “Look I didn’t mean that we shouldn’t try.” Nancy interrupted him “No I get it, we’re looking for a needle in haystack”.  Jonathan headed inside the Byers home making his way to the telephone “Well if we’re going to search, we may as well have help. And I as much as I hate the thought there’s only one person we can call”.

Steve Harrington dried himself off after doing several laps in his pool. He had a rare day off from wearing that god awful outfit at Scoops Ahoy and he was planning on enjoying every minute of it. As he was relaxing in his living room the phone rang; at the end of the call all thoughts of relaxation were gone from his mind as he hurriedly dressed and planned to meet Nancy and Jonathan by the woods near Hawkins Laboratory. After his experiences battling monsters from the Upside Down, he knew he was the logical person to call. He knew it, but Steve was still uncomfortable when it came to Nancy. They were in a sort of good place as friends, but he still had a streak of jealousy seeing her and Jonathan together. Nancy didn’t tell him everything but the moment she mentioned Eleven he knew this was trouble. Steve checked his backpack and made sure he had his special “equalizer”; the nail studded bat he usually took into battle against the monsters. He slammed the trunk shut and jumped in the front seat to depart. On the way to the woods he thought about another key reason he decided to help, and if he was being honest it was the main reason. He had grown an affinity for Dustin and his “shithead” friends. They were all a pain in the ass but good kids when it came down to it. He felt a sense of responsibility when it came to their well-being. If Steve had known what he was getting himself into he may have re thought the whole responsibility thing.

Anatoli shoved Susan inside the house and told Nikolai to bring Billy’s body inside. “You will tell me where your daughter is right now or we will wait for your husband and make sure he joins his son.” Susan shrieked “I don’t know what you want, why are you doing this?” Anatoli slapped her face turning her right cheek a bright crimson. “Focus, where is Jane Hopper, where is your daughter Maxine? We won’t kill her but if you don’t start talking I will have Nikolai get it out of you.” Susan’s mind was reeling. She saw her stepson brutally gunned down right in front of her and this strange son of a bitch kept asking her questions she couldn’t comprehend. Anatoli slapped her again, the sound echoing through the foyer. Susan looked at Anatoli with a look of anger. Anatoli looked at Nikolai “Your turn.” Nikolai walked towards her menacingly as she started screaming. Anatoli quickly walked into the kitchen and undid the gas line from the stove. As gas started to leak into the kitchen, he placed a small explosive device on the table. Anatoli recalled his previous instruction from Vladimir; create a distraction to keep the local police engaged while they carried out their mission.

Anatoli knew an explosion would garner a lot of attention. They didn’t have much time as Anatoli set the timer for two minutes. If Nikolai didn’t break her by now, she didn’t know anything. He would instruct Nikolai to kill her and get the hell out of the house and together they would support other members of the Spetnatz team. He had it all planned and ready to execute as he headed back to the foyer to find Nikolai and Susan missing. “Nikolai come on " he said in Russian. “We have to leave my friend, we have about a minute and a half before this place goes up”. Anatoli became confused when he didn’t see Nikolai immediately but saw Susan on the floor half conscious grabbing her throat. A small gurgling sound came from behind the sofa as Anatoli peered behind it to see Nikolai with his throat cut and blood seeping from it.  Anatoli backed away slowly with his mouth open in shock and his right hand going for his gun when he felt a sharp prick enter the back of his neck; Anatoli fell to the floor and he thought for a moment he was hallucinating. Standing above him with an evil smile was none other than Billy Hargrove. “You’re dead” Anatoli said. Billy leaned in close and whispered in Russian “You can’t kill me, no matter how hard you try.” Billy stabbed him several times in rapid succession in his stomach, almost disemboweling him. “Goodbye _tovarisch_ ” Billy scooped up Susan and carried her out of the home making it across the road when the house exploded behind them. Susan groggily tried to focus her eyes and saw the blue eyes of Billy looking down at her. The same Billy who was shot three times at point blank range in the chest. The sight of him and almost being killed by Nikolai took an immediate toll on Susan. She screamed once and promptly fainted. Billy morbidly thought _the conversation between my old man and this fool will be interesting indeed._

Mike tried to get his bearings as he awakened to find himself strapped to a gurney. The air tasted different and he thought he saw vines slowly growing around the legs of the gurney. Mike blinked his eyes rapidly as he feebly tried to free himself. Mike coughed violently as he struggled to breathe. He saw what appeared to be snow descending upon him and began to panic. Why was it so dark? He looked up and saw a pink sky laced with blue and purple hues. Mike had a sense of dread. He knew where he was even if he didn’t dare admit it to himself. He was in the Upside Down. Mike heard a rustling of leaves in close by. Mike’s heart was pounding so hard he thought it would burst from his chest and make a mad dash to a safer spot. Mike Wheeler was in the Upside Down and something was coming for him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party walks into the unknown with horrifying results. The Spetnatz team continues to execute their mission.

“Are we there yet?” Dustin grumbled. “Shut up Dustin” a chorus of voices replied. “Well damn, no need to be rude” he replied. The Party had been walking deeper into the woods for nearly an hour as they searched for the Shed. “I don’t mean to sound like the voice of reason here, but were in the middle of nowhere, no one knows where we are, and its starting to get dark. To top it off when we do find this place, we gotta go through Brenner. If anybody got any ideas on how to do all that please share.” Dustin said. The Party members remained silent for a moment; he did have a valid point. Brenner had all of the leverage in this case; Mike was a prisoner and they knew whatever he had planned wasn’t going to be nice. Lucas was the first to break the uncomfortable silence, “Yeah man, I get it, but this isn’t the same thing as when we were looking for Will. This time we got all the backup we need here in El. She can handle anything Brenner and his assholes throw at us. Right El?” El looked at Lucas and nodded giving him a thumbs up for good measure. “Yep” she said. “Besides I got this,” Lucas opened his backpack to show off his “wrist rocket” complete with several large rocks. “Hey its like the old guy says in the commercial, don’t leave home without it”.  Dustin chuckled but was only slightly moved by his friends’ words.

Will stared at the dense shrubbery around them as if listening to a message only he can hear. “You guys hear that? That humming noise is getting louder.” The rest of the Party heard it too. El walked over to a gnarled old tree looking over it carefully. Tracing her fingers down to the bottom she found a symbol carved in the side of it. To an ordinary hiker (or unfortunate lost soul) it looked like someone whittled a S symbol in the tree, but to El it was a reminder of the dark days of her previous life. “Its close by” she said with a look of apprehensiveness. “Look for a large mound that looks like an ant hill.” The Party searched the nearby area for the mound until Max saw it. “This has to be it. “she said. Everyone scurried closer and El telekinetically scattered the ants from the mound and stuck her hand inside. She reached until she found a familiar lever and pulled down. A click sounded, and the mound elevated slowly out of the ground until it a solid steel door was visible. El stared at the door and it suddenly swung inward, unseen screws heard popping out of the door and landing on the floor. Silently the Party members looked at one another and wordlessly walked through the door frame and down the concrete steps leading into the Shed.

Hopper surveyed the area as the Hawkins Fire Department went about putting out the raging fire that was once the Hargrove home. Hopper went over to Billy as medical personnel loaded Susan into the back of an ambulance. “Ok Billy what happened here?” Billy looked at Hopper with disgust as he tried to button his denim jacket (minus the bullet riddled and blood-stained shirt he hid in his trunk). “Look man I just got finished talking to Tonto over there about what happened.” Hopper snorted saying “Well go over it for me again.” “Fine, I was coming home after hanging out with some friends when I saw Susan arguing with two goofy looking assholes. I thought they was some of those Jehovah Witnesses types but then this one tall guy attacks her talking about some girl. And he sounded like a Rooskie.” Hopper looked at Billy intently. “Rooskie? You mean the guys were Russian?” “Yeah they sounded like they were Russian. They kept asking about where Max was and about some girl Well anyway they jump Susan and push her in the house. I guess they didn’t notice me, so I grabbed one from behind.  We wrestled over a gun and he fired.  It must have hit a gas line or something. I heard something hissing so I scooped up Susan and got out.  I don’t know what happened to them. They might still be in there.” Hopper listened to the story but was still mentally stuck on the intruders being Russian. He suddenly felt a cold chill run down his spine. He gulped nervously and thanked Billy before almost sprinting back to his jeep. Hopper grabbed the radio nervously “Jane you back home yet? Jane?” Hopper’s transmission was met with static. He tried not to think the worst, but he was losing that battle. Russians in Hawkins? Looking for Jane? This had to be about the London incident.  Hopper called over his deputies. “Ok look the guys that attacked the Hargroves may be Russian. I also have reason to believe there may be more of them. I want you out there on the streets checking out every block and street corner. This is going to be a long night fellas.”

Nancy and Jonathan stood outside by the edge of the woods waiting for Steve to get there. Steve pulled up in his car in and as he exited Jonathan murmured to Nancy “How in the hell does he keep his hair looking that. This guy must run through a ton of hair gel.” Nancy chuckled briefly and greeted Steve, “Thanks for doing this, I don’t know who else to tell about all of this.” “Yeah yeah, don’t worry about it. Do we have any clue of where to look yet or are we just winging this all the way through?” Jonathan looked at him saying ruefully, “We are so making it up as we go along”. Nancy fired back “You got any better ideas? Because I’m all ears.”  Jonathan grabbed his backpack and silently headed into the woods with Nancy (toting her fathers’ gun) and Steve grabbing his Demidog tamer. They headed into the quickly darkening woods, hoping that somehow, someway they get a lead on Mike’s whereabouts.

Karen opened the door to her home feeling somewhat guilty yet invigorated all the same. “Hi honey” Ted called from the living room. “Hi Ted, I’ll get started on dinner in a moment. I guess Mike is still at the lake with his friends.” Ted murmured “Yeah he left this morning and I haven’t heard from him yet. Nancy took off out of here too. Cindy is upstairs taking a nap”. “I’m glad you had a moment of peace and quiet then.” Karen said.  Ted opened the refrigerator door to grab some orange juice. “So, how’s Yvonne? Did she enjoy the casserole?” Karen froze for a moment, it was the way Ted asked the question that made her wonder if he had caught on to what she was doing. Before she could answer the doorbell rang. _Whew saved by the proverbial bell_ she thought. Karen opened the door to see two men standing outside both wearing similar navy-blue suits. “Can I help you?” she asked. “Why yes, yes you can Mrs. Wheeler. This is my friend Misha and I am Vladimir. May we intrude for just a moment?”

Brenner looked at the monitor showing his precious Eleven walking into the Shed with her friends. His pulse quickened, and his mouth became dry. He berated himself over his unexpected nervousness in seeing Eleven again. He sent his operatives into position to be ready for them. He had about 8 people at his disposal and feared that it may not be enough if things went bad. Brenner hobbled over to the testing chamber. It was time for another dosage of his pain medication. As he gulped down two pills, he looked at the machine humming endlessly, channeling Three’s power and keeping the portal open. Any moment now he would be face to face with some of the people he hated the most; and they were all children. Children he would happily banish to a hell beyond their imagining.

Jansen and Pearson walked to the old control room outside of the testing chamber preparing for the Party’s arrival. Jansen look particularly apprehensive. “Hey Pearson, doesn’t any of this shit bug you? I mean I don’t mind doing things to protect this country but basically killing children doesn’t sit well with me.” Jansen had been among the few that had taken Mike into the Upside Down and she had recurring nightmares about the otherworldly dimension. “Look I don’t get paid to think or have a conscience. You have problems you need to take it up with Doc Brenner.” Pearson said with a stony expression. “You’re a cold bastard.” Jansen retorted. “Yep, that’s why I’m still alive and plan on staying that way. No let’s focus on the kiddies, shall we?

The Party made their way through the winding corridors with Eleven slowly remembering some of the horrific events that took place there. She remembered the testing room where Six was pushed so far that his powers over loaded and he became a solid frozen statue. She recalled how Brenner said he was weak and literally blew him to pieces with a direct blast from a shotgun. El remembered the sound as bits of ice and blood sprayed on the walls and littered the floor. It sounded like someone had dropped loose change on a floor. El opened the door to the testing chamber where she looked into the face of a ghost and her worst fear back in living form. “Papa” she whispered. Brenner smiled joyously as he walked towards her. “Ok asshole that’s far enough” Lucas barked out, “Where’s Mike?” “What do you want Brenner?” Dustin shouted out. “Ah that’s the better question. You are a smart lad, just like your friend Michael. He is fine but that depends on what you all do next.” Brenner walked towards them slowly leaning on his cane. “I am here to take Eleven with me.” He motioned to one of the walls that appeared to have a vertical scar run down the length of the wall. The scar pulsated like a heart beat with it flexing in and out. “Mike is in the other dimension but close. All you have to do is go get him out. While you do that, Eleven and I will take our leave.” Will shook with anger “You son of a bitch! You put him in the Upside Down? You don’t know what’s in there!” “Then I strongly suggest you all go in and get him out.” Brenner said ever so calmly. “Suck a dick loser. El’s not going anywhere with you!”  Lucas said as he dropped his bag and readied his wrist rocket. Max saw movement as Brenner’s minions moved in closer. “Shit we got company.”  “You put Mike in the Upside Down? Papa, how could you?” El said, her anger growing by the second. “Eleven, listen to me, I know how you feel about that boy, so you know I wouldn’t hurt him. But I need you to come with me. Do as I say!” “No! I’ll never go anywhere with you! I hate you! Give Mike back to me now!” El went to work, raising her left hand in a waving motion and watching as three of Brenner’s people sailed across the room. “Eleven no! stop it this instant! “Brenner said with a look of horror on his face. El turned her right hand stopping two more in their tracks. El then turned her palm upwards and flexed her arm slightly slamming them into the ceiling. El looked at Brenner as she approached him slowly. “Papa, I want you to get. Mike. Back. NOW!” Brenner looked at Eleven both proud of her increased skill using her abilities and angry at her defiance. He didn’t want it to happen like this. Brenner sighed softly “I can’t do that Eleven. If your friends don’t get him then he dies there. Plain and simple. And now I must apologize for what I am about to do next, but you will come with me.” Brenner looked despondent for a moment then said, “ _Emeritus Excelsior”_. El suddenly froze in place, her shoulders slumped, motionless. “El? Whats going on? We have to do something; those guys are getting back up and there’s more coming” Max said with a growing sense of dread. Lucas screamed as he fired some stones from his wrist rocket. Dustin grabbed El and shook her. “What did you do you asshole?” Dustin yelled. Brenner chuckled saying “You honestly didn’t believe I would not have a way defeat Eleven? It’s called a post hypnotic suggestion. Like I said Eleven will be mine whether you like it or not.” El stared aimlessly straight ahead, a prisoner in her own body as she heard the screams of her friends: “Eleven snap out if it. Please! Eleven come on! Eleven. ELEVEN!!”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Startling revelations are made and the Upside Down gains new citizens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everyone! Also feel free to comment if you like.

Jane Hopper has become familiar with many emotions in her young life; despair, rage, fear, hopelessness, but never had she felt this utterly helpless. She heard Brenner’s words seep into her mind like an infection. She tried to resist but her legs moved as if on its own volition. Brenner beckoned her to move forward. One step, two steps, El could hear the panic in her friends’ voices as they pulled her, screamed in her ears to help them. It was no use; she was a puppet in her own body, with Brenner pulling the invisible strings.

Brenner looked at Eleven with a sense of awe, this young girl, blossoming into a young woman was resisting his commands, battling the post hypnotic suggestions and mental tampering. With each tremble, each jerking step, Brenner beamed with pride; his Eleven was magnificent and with her they would conquer the monsters and create order from chaos. “Follow me Eleven” he murmured, “follow me into greatness”. El kept approaching, slower than he would like but Brenner’s people were rounding up her friends.  _This would be over soon_. No sooner than the thought crossed Brenner’s mind he suddenly felt a sharp pain over his left brow. He reached up with his left hand and pulled it down to see crimson staining his fingers. _What just happened_? he thought. Another shot hit him square in the nose, making his eyes water and through his blurred vision he saw a dark-skinned boy standing and shouting in triumph as he held some sort of slingshot in his hands. Brenner stumbled backwards into the psi magnetron, the machine which harnessed and controlled the incredible abilities of Three. Brenner, as he fell tried to grasp for something, anything that would help keep him on his feet, he instead pulled a lever which began to spike the power from the psi magnetron exponentially. Brenner realized his error as soon as he hit the cold concrete floor. _Oh shit._

Eleven saw Papa fly backwards with his head bleeding. She thought she heard Lucas yelling “Got you asshole!” before he was grabbed by one of Brenner’s operatives. El saw the world as if stuck in slow motion. Without Brenner’s commands she stopped moving but still could not break through the mental barriers that kept her from fully regaining control. Through the screams four words pushed through the haze and broke the grip which she was under. Four words: “Jane we need you”. The fog was lifted; Jane Hopper was free.

Max beamed with pride when she saw her boyfriend’s courage on full display. Never back down, never quit he continued to fire his wrist rocket with two rocks hitting Brenner causing him to fall. Max grabbed El’s shoulder yelling then lowering her voice, almost coaxing her to move. Max saw Will go down kicking and screaming. Dustin bit one of the Brenner’s minions in the hand resulting in a backhand slap that sent the stocky boy reeling. She was running out of time and ideas. Lucas ran of rocks for his slingshot and went in fists flying but he was no match. Max then had an epiphany. She needed to find something El would react to, so playing a hunch she called her by her true name, Jane Hopper. “Jane, we need you. We are out of time. If we get caught Mike stays in the Upside Down. Come on Jane please!” she said. Max felt the room spark as if bathed in static electricity, and heard a tearing sound come from the vicinity of the gateway. The gateway was stretching across the wall as it grew wider. El clenched her fists and turned her head slowly. The look on her face gave Max chills. El was back and there would be hell to pay. Max stepped back both happy and somewhat afraid of the raw power her friend possessed and the deadly stare that was etched upon her face. Immediately bodies flew backwards. One of Brenner’s men flew so hard into one of the concrete walls that Max heard the bones shatter upon impact. With a waving gesture Brenner’s people flew through the air. With several unsteady steps El walked towards the gateway.

Jansen and Pearson burst into the testing chamber to see their associate’s bodies whiz past them. Pearson muttered “This has gone to shit in a hurry” pulling his 45-caliber pistol and aiming it the kids. Jansen was a lot of things, most of it could be considered bad, but one thing she wasn’t was a child killer. Hell, she had nieces and nephews, and even though they can be a pain in the ass she couldn’t imagine making her sister attend their funerals. “Pearson no!” Jansen shoved him knocking off his aim as he fired, the bullet hitting the psi magnetron causing a shower of sparks and billowing smoke coming from the machine. Brenner yelled from the floor “No! what the hell are you doing?” as he struggled to get to his feet. Jansen implored the kids to run, and they did, just not in the direction she thought they would.

Dustin got to his feet first, holding his sore and bruised jaw. He quickly pulled up Lucas who in turn grabbed Will. They saw El walking to the gateway faster, stumbling as she begun to run. “El wait! Hold on! “he said as he ran towards her. El gave him a withering look as if she was contemplating tossing him around too. Lucas threw up his hands “Easy El, same side here. I want to get Mike too but we gotta stay together.” El’s features softened as she heard his words. Lucas grabbed her hand as Max grabbed his, Dustin grabbed Max and turned towards Will who stood a few feet away as if suffering from the same post hypnotic suggestion that afflicted El. “Guys I don’t know if I can do this. I spent weeks in the Upside Down. I almost died in there. You can’t make me go back in.” Lucas looked at him, as Dustin said “Ok man I get it. Look you get out of here and find Chief Hopper and tell them to come find us.” Lucas however wasn’t having any of it; “Will we need you, Mike needs you. You know damn well if you were in there Mike wouldn’t hesitate to come and get you. He’s your best friend. Your oldest friend. You survived in there for a long time. You can tell us what to look out for and help keep us alive. If we die in there, how could you live with yourself knowing you didn’t do everything you could. That you let fear keep you down. C’mon Will don’t make me beg man.” Will slowly walked towards the rest of the Party and grabbed Dustin’s hand. “If we get killed in there, I’m never talking to you again” he said softly. “Will you kids shut the fuck up and get moving?” Jansen said as she shoved them and herself through the portal as she saw Pearson take aim at them again. The group tumbled through the gateway, the torn fabric of reality and landed headfirst into the nightmare dimension called the Upside Down.

Karen stared at the two strangers both surprised and somewhat horrified; how did they know their names? Karen turned to Ted nervously as he adjusted his glasses and walked towards the one who called himself Vladimir. “How can I help you Vladimir?” he asked. “How kind of you Mr. Wheeler, you can begin by telling me where is the girl in this picture? You know her as Jane, some call her Eleven, and you can also tell me what you know about the Invictus Initiative”. Ted reacted to the last question as if he had been physically struck. Ted began to think of a way out of the predicament. The Russians knowing about Jane was bad enough, but the Invictus Initiative was a different matter entirely.

This man should not have known about the program or more importantly that Ted had active knowledge of the program. As if seeing Ted’s mind spinning for an answer Vladimir said “No sense trying to hide it Ted, you don’t mind if I call you Ted, do you? I hate being so formal. I know you were assigned to keep an eye on Dr Brenner and his pet project. Your government needed someone to give them the true story of what was going on at Hawkins Laboratory. The CIA provided a good backstop for you. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you were just another simple American and not an operative. But since you are, I need you to start talking before I make her suffer.” Karen looked at Ted as if he was a stranger; _My god is it true?_ Ted stared at Vladimir, his face expressionless. He took a deep breath, took off his glasses, and exhaled before saying “Ok, you are holding all the cards here. No need for anyone to get hurt.  I don’t know where Jane is, but I can tell you the Initiative ended about a year ago when they shut down Hawkins Laboratory. Some sort of accident took place there. I haven’t seen Brenner since.” Vladimir regarded Ted curiously and pulled out a pistol nonchalantly patting it at his hip. “Look it’s the truth, but if you think threatening to kill her is going to get me to cry and scream think again. This cheating bitch isn’t worth the time.”

Karen froze, her jaw dropping open as if pulled by an unseen force. “Wha, um what are you talking about?” Ted turned on her, his eyes boring a hole into her,” I know you have someone on the side. I’m not blind. One of your friends, Debra I think her name was called looking for you one day; unfortunately for you, your little story had you at her house with some friends. So, I got suspicious and had you followed. I know about the little long-haired punk you’ve been fucking.” Karen looked at the man she called her husband and saw a stranger. She was too stunned to speak. “Well that is a pity, so shall I kill her now as a personal favor to you?” Vladimir said with a deadpan expression as he aimed his pistol at her head. Karen felt her knees go weak as she thought this may be her last night among the living.

Nancy, Jonathan and Steve walked deeper into the woods, much like the Party did, looking for any sign of the secret lab and Mike. There was a blinding flash of light as if someone had a gigantic sized Polaroid camera take their picture. As the trio stopped in place trying to get their vision back, they heard a ripping sound, like paper being torn apart, and a sudden gust of wind, tossing them into the air, each landing with a thud. Jonathan saw the forest slowly fade away, to be replaced by a gaping hole which sucked everything within a 200-foot radius. Branches, dirt and debris all flew into the gaping maw. Nancy screamed, trying to grab anything to stop from being pulled in. Steve flew past him into the portal screaming as he went with Nancy losing her battle and flying in behind him. Jonathan numbly thought who else was screaming but then realized the screams were coming from him as he flew headlong into the darkness. He landed into a mass of vines next to Steve and Nancy, who were struggling to get tot their feet. Jonathan turned to see the portal which appeared so suddenly close just as fast. Jonathan made his way over to the others with Steve saying, “Dude what the hell was that?” Nancy looked up and got a sense of her surroundings “Oh God” she murmured. “What is Nancy?” Steve asked before stopping to look up at the sky. It was pink with purple hues. “I know where we are. This is the Upside Down.” There was a noise coming from inside the dense vegetation and vines, and through the darkness they could make out shapes of someone or something approaching them.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation in Hawkins goes from bad to worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you all are enjoying the story thus far.

Joyce Byers hummed contently to herself as she tidied up the shelves at the general store where she worked. She thought about the fun Will and his friends were having and how both he and Jonathan were growing into fine young men. _Not bad for a single mom,_ she thought. Her thoughts then went to a certain Hawkins police chief. Jim had been such a good friend to her when Bob died, listening to her as she grieved for her loss. She knew Jim always harbored feelings for her and would do almost anything for her and boys. Hell, he even took a quick vacation to go with Will to London. That guy never takes vacations. She acknowledged to herself that she was falling for Jim hard and was finally comfortable in moving on from Bob. She thought Bob would understand and wouldn’t want her to mourn over him forever. As she carried some boxes to the storeroom, she noticed two gentlemen in suits come in the store, but what she didn’t see was one of those men flipping the store sign out front from OPEN to CLOSED.

Karen felt beads of sweat trickle down her face as she wondered if her husband hated her enough to want to see her take a bullet to the head. She silently prayed he would not let this happen. Vladimir’s finger tightened on the trigger as he said, “Well Ted? Shall I do this favor for you or would you like to do it yourself?” Ted glanced at Karen saying “No. I don’t want her dead. Where’s the fun in that? I’d much rather she lives to regret her decision making.” Karen exhaled the breath she was holding for what seemed to be an eternity. _Thank God_. Karen felt tears leak out of her eyes and down her cheek as she struggled to compose herself.  Vladimir lowered his weapon as casually as if he was handling a newspaper, “Ok Ted if you say so. Now my next question is this, where is the other laboratory located at? I know there was a secondary facility and I suspect you know its location”.

_Damn this man! How in the hell does he know this shit?_ Ted thought. “I don’t know its exact location. It was rumored to be somewhere in the woods” he murmured. “I am sure you can do better than that Ted. Where is the location?” Vladimir asked calmly as he sat at the kitchen table, looking as if he was waiting for someone to offer him a cup of coffee. Ted knew he needed to find a way to turn the situation to his advantage and an idea formulated in his mind. “Come to think of it, I can point out where the location is. I have a map in my study. I’m sure I can narrow it down a bit.” Ted’s plan was simple: go the study where his revolver was and proceed to blow both of their brains out. Ted turned away from the pair as they followed him to the study, with a small smirk creasing on his lips. There was one problem with his plan; the gun he thought was in a secure location in his study is actually in the hands of his daughter Nancy.

Crow and Powell patrolled the Hawkins streets looking for anything unusual. The Hargrove home explosion was still being investigated but was reported as a possible gas explosion. Crow thought about the times he had been out on patrol while in the military and how his instincts had always served him well. Crow and Powell cruised past the General Store, where Crow noticed something peculiar. “Hey Powell, what time does the General Store usually close?” he asked. “Around 7 o clock, I think. Why?” “Well for starters its just past 6. There are two cars there and it says closed.” Powell looked at the store for a moment thinking that Crow had a point. “Ok let’s go take a look.”

Crow opened the door and heard muffled noises coming from the back of the darkened store. Crow drew his service revolver and Powell did the same walking to the adjacent aisles in the store. Powell said in a loud voice “Joyce Byers! Is everything ok back there? Its me Powell.” Another muffled noise and then a scream as Joyce yelled “HELP!” Crow sprung into action as he saw a man come out of the stockroom with his semiautomatic pistol in hand. “Freeze! Police!” Crow said. The man quickly opened fire and ducked into the aisle where Powell was standing. Powell pumped three rounds into the man’s chest slamming him into the shelves, knocking over several cans of paint and paint brushes. Powell rushed over to check the body, shining his flashlight into the unresponsive eyes of the dead man. Crow burst into the stock room to see Joyce putting up a valiant effort against her would be captor. Crow grabbed the man and pulled him away from Joyce. Crow tried to use a normal armlock takedown to put handcuffs on his suspect but was surprised as the man thrust his head back, hitting Crow in the nose, blurring his vision. The second Spetnatz operative spun around and launched two quick punches to Crow’s midsection and an uppercut knocking Crow off his feet. Powell tried to tackle the assailant but grasped at air as the assailant sidestepped him and drove his elbow into the officer’s ribs. Powell crumpled to the floor in pain as Crow swung his right arm into a sweeping hook only to be blocked and hooked by the operative’s left arm, while he thrust his hand into Crow’s throat. Crow gasped for air but had retained enough of his wits to block a knee strike and connect with two jabs to the stomach, making the operative pause for a moment. The operative reached behind his back and withdrew a knife, crouching into a fighting stance ready to strike but before he could two shots rang out knocking him off of his feet. Joyce walked up shakily and fired four more shots into the operative’s body stilling any movement. Joyce dropped the operative’s gun on the floor and began to sob.

Jim Hopper was both outraged and worried; someone had tried to hurt Joyce and damn near killed two of his officers, and he would bet his paycheck that the Hargrove explosion and this incident were both related. Hopper tried to contact El on the radio again and was met with silence. Hopper was minutes away from the General Store and embracing Joyce when he received another call from Flo which made his blood run cold and add to his paranoia. There were shots fired at the Wheeler house; someone was critically injured. Hopper swore under his breath as he turned his vehicle away from the direction of the General Store and towards the home of Ted and Karen Wheeler.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper gets answers and assistance from an acquaintance and an old friend. Brenner and Vladimir are set on a collision course

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is still with me on this story.

_Twenty minutes earlier_

Ted thought he had a semblance of a solid plan; he just needed them to get into his study and away from Karen. As he beckoned Vladimir and Misha to follow him to the study, his heart raced, and a bead of perspiration trickled down his face; he would have one shot at this. He went to his desk and opened the drawer looking for his revolver which was missing. Ted’s eyes grew wide for a millisecond but that was still long enough for the ever-observant Vladimir to notice something was amiss.  Misha grabbed Karen as Vladimir aimed his gun at Ted saying “You look surprised about something. What is it?” Ted started taking paperwork and a map out of the drawer mumbling “Nothing umm I didn’t see the map at first is all”. Ted quickly tried to come up with another plan but knew he didn’t have much time. Ted rolled out the map of Hawkins and studied it for a moment. He then took a pencil and circled a location on the map. “I think it’s here. It wasn’t too far from the laboratory. The access point is hidden though”. Vladimir looked at the location and made some mental calculations; it was going to take a while to scour that area. He would need the rest of the Spetnatz team on the ground searching as well. Vladimir took the map, folded it and stuffed it in his pocket. Ted looked at the KGB operative saying, “Ok are we square here? We did what you asked.” Vladimir motioned Ted to head back into the kitchen “Da we are almost done Ted”. On the way into the kitchen they all heard footsteps coming down the steps with Ted and Karen feeling a sense of dread and horror; Holly was awake. Misha swung his gun toward the sound with Ted grabbing the weapon and shoving away from Holly. Karen screamed as she grabbed Holly and told her to run upstairs. Vladimir shoved Karen to the floor as Ted picked up Misha slamming him into the wall as he dropped his weapon. Ted saw his opening as he grabbed Misha’s gun but heard a shot ring out a burning sensation in his gut. Ted hit the floor but still fired off two bullets hitting Misha in the chest. Vladimir ducked back towards the front door as he fired wildly into the corridor. Vladimir knew the gunshots would alert neighbors and Ted was armed. He had no choice but to leave Misha there. Besides Misha knew what to do if he was still alive. He was loyal to Mother Russia of this he had no doubt. Vladimir jumped in his car and headed towards the woods, communicating back to the rest of his team to meet him there; heavily armed.

Ted pulled himself to his feet and walked towards Misha who was slumped against the wall taking shallow breaths. “What the hell are you doing here? You KGB? What are you after in the woods?” Ted asked. Karen grabbed Holly in a bear hug and ran to the phone to call the police. Misha stared at Ted and shifted his jaw slightly as if he was grinding his teeth. Ted heard a crunch and saw Misha’s mouth fill with a thick mucus like substance. Ted didn’t bother to ask another question or stop him, he knew Misha was gone. Ted walked towards the kitchen and basically collapsed in the chair. He put a hand to his stomach and felt the blood flowing from the hole in it. He suddenly became light headed and vaguely heard Karen and Holly crying beside him “Hang on honey, help is on the way” Karen said. Ted looked at her with love in his eyes and heart for his girls. “Look Karen, I know I haven’t been the husband you wanted, and its my fault. I don’t blame you for what you did. If you find happiness with him then so be it”. Karen smiled at Ted through her tears saying “Hush Ted save your strength, we can talk about this later. Don’t make this sound like goodbye. You are going to be fine.” Ted chuckled at her “We both know that’s bullshit. Sorry Holly”. Holly just looked at both her parents with a scared expression on her face. Ted’s vision started to blur, and everything went black.

Martin Brenner was in a state of panic and rage. He was furious that Eleven had once again escaped his grasp and as he sat on a dusty office chair in a makeshift sickbay getting stitches to his left eyebrow. Brenner replayed the scene repeatedly in his head and his ire grew towards the fool that opened fire in the test chamber: Pearson. One of Pearson’s bullets struck the Psi Magnetron damaging the precious machine. “Status?” he said to no one in particular for what he felt like was the thousandth time. “Its still being worked on Dr. Brenner, now sit still” said the medic patching him up. Brenner felt as if he was surrounded by incompetent nitwits. He knew they were working on borrowed time. The power surges and flashes of light had surely attracted attention by now and he knew someone, namely that damn Chief Hopper would investigate. Brenner stood up for a moment but felt a searing pain in his side. He opened his suit jacket and saw crimson on the left side of the fabric. _Damn_ , he thought. The medic saw the blood and pushed Brenner back in the seat. He got a fresh dressing and opened the shirt. He involuntarily cringed when he saw several scars about 10 inches long etched into his side. It looked as if a gigantic claw took a chunk out of him.  The medic quickly pulled off the blood-soaked bandage and replaced it with a fresh one, with Brenner quickly rebuttoning his shirt. “We don’t have time to lose, we must fix the device and find Eleven. Bring that asshole Pearson in here.” As Brenner said those words one of his operatives came into the sickbay in a rush “Dr Brenner, I think we may have a problem, the motion trackers have detected movements in the woods.”

Hopper pulled up to the Wheeler home in time to see paramedics putting Ted on a gurney and loading him into the ambulance. Just from a quick glance he knew Ted was in deep trouble. Ted’s skin looked pale as if he was going into shock. Karen tried to collect her composure before speaking but failed miserably. “Oh god Ted, please don’t die I love you.” Karen grasped his hand for a second before the doors shut and the ambulance began to take off sirens blaring. Hopper thought he had seen enough ambulances to last him a few months. He approached Karen asking what transpired. Karen told him about Vladimir and his hunt for the Shed. Hoppers blood ran cold when Karen said: “They also came here looking for Jane. The man had a picture of her. Oh god Mike! They were all at the lake. They should’ve been back by now. Maybe you can call Joyce and tell Nancy what happened. I’m sure she’s with Jonathan. Have her pick up Mike from the lake. I have to go to the hospital.” Karen dropped Holly off with a next-door neighbor and jumped in the car to travel to the hospital. Hopper had a sinking feeling the kids were not at the lake. Twenty minutes later as he pulled up to the lake his suspicions were validated. Hopper headed back to his cabin opening the door in a rush “Jane? Jane are you here?” The cabin was dark and silent. Hopper turned on the lights and tried to keep from panicking as he tried to navigate through dual emergencies. He paced in the small kitchen area until he thought of the one person, he thought could have an answer to one of the problems: the location of the backup lab. Before he could dial the phone rang startling him. He picked up slowly answering “Hello?”  “Hopper its me Flo. I got a call from a Tim Warwick. Says you and he go way back. He said to meet him at the Hawkins bakery parking lot.” “Ok I'll be on my way in a few minutes I have to make a phone call first.” Hopper gruffly hung up the phone and called Dr. Sam Owens.

Vladimir spoke to his team in Russian as they prepared to go into the woods. As eight Spetnatz operators double checked their weapons and ammo, he gave instruction on who to shoot (which was everyone but the girl) and planning on their exit strategy. Vladimir knew that the local police department would probably call in backup from the state troopers and the FBI. They had to find their target quickly, capture her, and get the hell out of there. Preferably in one piece. Vladimir studied the map for a minute or two and set out into the woods. Vladimir chuckled as he thought: _Ready or not here we come. I will find you little dove._ He positively hummed as he marched through the trees. He would make General for sure once he completed his mission.

Hopper pulled into the bakery parking lot to see several cars parked there. _This better be good._ Hopper was still reeling from his conversation with Dr. Owen; how the secondary lab was where the more “volatile” experiments were conducted. Owens likened it to a slaughterhouse where the test subjects didn’t always make it out in one piece. Owens gave him the coordinates of the Shed but urged him to be careful, there were numerous sensors and hidden cameras in the area near the hidden facility. There were also self defense mechanisms inside.  Hopper also saw the familiar visage of Timothy Warwick. Tall, and lanky, the brown-haired Warwick was one of the FBI’s better agents and he and Hopper had attended the FBI Academy together. Warwick and Hopper remained friends after he left the Bureau and knew he could rely on him in a tough spot. It didn’t get any tougher than what was going on right now. Hopper shook Tim’s hand before pulling him into a bearhug. “What the hell are you doing out here Tim” “You interested in a possible Soviet invasion of Hawkins?” Judging the weary look on Hoppers face, Tim knew he was late to dance. “Shit its already happening isn’t it? Well I got some news for you and I don’t think you will like it much.” After Tim told him what he knew, Hopper agreed with his assessment; he didn’t like it at all.  


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All roads lead to the Shed and a betrayal gives Vladimir the upper hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter setting the stage for the collision at the Shed.

Vladimir was growing impatient; he and his team had wandered through the woods for the better part of an hour. The woods were difficult to navigate in the daylight, it was much worse now that the dark was encroaching on them. He was beginning to think he needed to go pay a visit to Ted Wheeler in whatever hospital he was in. If Ted was dead, then Vladimir would make sure his family would keep him company in the otherworld. As Vladimir’s murderous thoughts continued to run through his mind, he heard a voice on his walkie talkie. “All units, this is Oleg, I have found something, it looks like a door coming out of the ground.” Vladimir keyed his walkie talkie yelling “Stay back, don’t make a move! We will be there in a moment.” Vladimir and the rest of the team descended on the entry of the Shed.

Joyce was accompanied back to her house by Powell and Crow to ensure there were no other nasty surprises. She knew as soon as she arrived that something was wrong. The lights in the house were out; someone should have been home. Joyce frantically opened the door and called out into the darkened house. “Jonathan? Will? Anyone here?” Crow and Powell entered beside her as she turned on the foyer light; no one was home. Powell got on his radio to inform Flo back at the station that the Byers house was clear but had the misfortune of having Joyce standing next to him as news of the Wheeler incident came across his radio.  Joyce looked at Powell with a sense of dread, “Ted’s in the hospital? Was it related to the guys that came after me? Powell what the hell is going on?” Powell took a deep breath and tried to calm Joyce down, but she was just getting started, “Don’t tell me to relax. There are Russians running around attacking people for some reason, who else are they after? What if they have my kids?” “Mrs. Byers, we have guys on patrol now in the neighborhood looking for anything suspicious, I think we have it covered”. Powell certainly didn’t feel as confident as he sounded, he was praying that Simmons didn’t already punch out Callahan.

Simmons was feeling a bit suicidal and homicidal all at once. He desperately wanted to take his service revolver and put a nice round hole in Callahan’s smirking face and blow his own head off if he heard the word “rook” one more time. Simmons settled for the middle ground of trying to ignore the pompous ass. “It's all about instincts rook, you gotta use your gut, hone your senses. That’s what good police work is all about” Callahan said for perhaps the 100th time. Simmons ignored him and looked out the window as they patrolled through the town of Hawkins. Simmons was hoping something would happen so he wouldn’t have to listen to Callahan drone on repeatedly and see if he could back up his bullshit. As they passed drove past the woods, something caught Simmons attention; a car parked in the vegetation. “Hold on Callahan, I think I saw something.” Callahan pulled over and as they hopped out Simmons used his flashlight and saw the rear license plates. “There isn’t any hunting going on right now is there?” Simmons asked. “Don’t think so” Callahan replied as he checked out the front of the vehicle. “I’m gonna run the plates” Simmons said as he memorized the plates and radioed Flo. “Yeah good idea rook” Callahan murmured.

Hopper was back in his vehicle with Warwick heading towards the Shed’s location. Tim’s information was sobering; the Soviets certainly had the advantage and with news that they are receiving insider help made his blood boil. _Stinking traitors_ , he thought. Hopper was dismayed at the news of Duncan Smythe’s death. He also blamed the KGB for that; those assholes would stop at nothing to achieve their goal. Hopper’s radio squelched interrupting his thoughts. “Hey Chief, its Powell uh we got a slight problem, er hey what are you doing? Hop its me Joyce my boys are not at home and whatever the hell is going on around here I’m sure involves them too, so wherever these guys are going, I’m going.” Hopper heard some rustling in the background as Powell took his radio back. “Sorry Chief.” Hopper answered him back “Don’t worry about it, I know more than anyone how she can be when her mind is made up. Meet us at the south sector of Hawkins woods. Callahan and Simmons, you guys do the same. I’ll meet you there.” Warwick looked at Hopper with a knowing smile. “You and Joyce finally go figure it out this time?” “I don’t know Tim, we’re working on it”. A youthful looking FBI agent in the backseat chimed in saying “You know in Tibetan culture men used to” he was interrupted by Warwick as he grumbled “Not now Cooper, save the Tibetan mumbo jumbo and dreamwork for later. I swear I don’t know what Gordon sees in you sometime.” Cooper looked duly chastised and sat back in his seat. “Sorry Hop, new guy getting his feet wet, smart but a little goofy.” Hopper laughed “Yeah I know what that’s like.”

Vladimir lagged behind the rest of his men as they converged on the entrance to the Shed. He was mentally working out how they would search the facility and how much time he thought they had before someone would discover them. He knew someone had to be searching for them by now. He heard a rustle of leaves from his left near an embankment. “Hey what are you doing here?” Vladimir saw two men in police uniform approaching. He tensed at first, then relaxed when he saw both nametags. “Good, you are here, we found the location, dispose of him and buy us some more time please.” One officer looked confused but the other pulled out his gun and fired off four shots, sending the confused officer over the embankment, tumbling down to the forest floor below. The cop shrugged his shoulders saying “Sorry Rook”.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle for the Shed begins and Hopper makes a startling discovery

There are many reasons as to why a person would betray his/her country. Ego, philosophical differences, promises of advanced positions, or blackmail but one of the more common reasons is simple: money. Callahan was an associate (friend was too strong a word) of Frank Timmons. Timmons was the janitor at the Hawkins laboratory who also saw a way to make a lot of money very quickly via espionage and proceeded to give up precious information, to include the existence of the secret laboratory. Timmons was also a frequent guest at the weekly poker game held at Callahan’s house. He was contacted by the KGB Agent known as Sasha years ago and Callahan saw the money he was flashing around. Callahan of course wanted in. Timmons told Callahan about his arrangement and set up an introduction. Callahan was pretty good at math and he knew his meager salary wasn’t going to support his penchant for poker (or his losing streak). Callahan was rather surprised when Vladimir contacted him later saying he was going to be Callahan’s new handler. Vladimir also gave him instructions to delay the police as much as possible and to let him know when and if he and his team were exposed. Callahan took it one step further by shooting his partner. Vladimir was pleasantly surprised and made a mental note to pay him a little extra; Vladimir just couldn’t decide whether the payment was to be made in cash or bullets; after all a traitor could never be trusted. “Stall them a bit longer, my men have made it to the entrance. We will go in and see what is inside and then exit.” “Roger that.” Callahan said as he got on the radio to declare an officer was down.

Brenner was feeling more than a bit apprehensive about the people the motion trackers picked up. The video camera showed a group of about 10 people amass at the entry to the Shed with one man making his way to the front of the group. _Must be the one in charge_ Brenner thought. “Looks like you have someone to shoot now Mr. Pearson, please be more accurate with your aim please.” Pearson glanced at him for a second, then quickly gathered the group of people left in the Shed and gave out instructions. Hopefully some of them would make it out alive. They had the element of surprise but that would only last so long. They were outmanned and outgunned. As the group took their positions, with some of them praying, Pearson had already decided he would do what is necessary to survive; if it meant betraying Brenner then so be it. Pearson made sure he stayed with Brenner just in case he needed him as leverage. One can never be too careful.

Vladimir looked at the entryway to the Shed noticing the door was hanging loosely on its hinges. He sent in two men down the dark concrete stairway, flashlights swinging from side to side. Vladimir sent in the rest of the squad by twos until they were all on the main level. The hallway was dimly lit and seemed to be deserted. The Spetnatz team went through several offices only to find them barren. The furniture was in a state of disrepair and the cabinets empty. Vladimir grunted in disgust; he lost men on this mission, it could not have all been for nothing. One of the men pointed out a sign that said Test Chamber with an arrow that pointed to another staircase. Vladimir nodded as they all made their way down to the next level. When they all made their way onto the level Vladimir noticed something was wrong. There was little dust on this level, as if someone had been there recently. “Hold on “Vladimir said. “Somethings wr…” His words were cut off by a shout and then gunfire ripping through the hallway. Vladimir realized he and his team were sitting ducks. Two of his men hit the floor, one with a round hole in his forehead and the back of his head blown open. He and his men returned fire with their AK47 rifles. They shot one of the Shed defenders that was in one of the offices which lined the hallway and several of them filed into the room to get out of the line of fire. The gunshots and ricochets lit up the level like a fireworks display. The battle for the Shed had begun.

Hopper gunned the engine of his Jeep harder than ever before. One of his officers was down and another in trouble. There was silence in the vehicle outside of the FBI Agents checking their weapons as they pulled up to edge of the woods. He saw Powell and Crow (with Joyce in the backseat) screeching to a halt. They all piled out as the second FBI car pulled up behind Hoppers vehicle. Hopper yelled out into the woods “Callahan! Where are you?” Callahan stumbled out of the darkness, “Oh thank God Chief, we saw a bunch of guys in the woods and when stopped them the bastards started shooting at us. Simmons got hit, I think he’s gone Chief, dammit!” Callahan was trying not to lay it on too thick. Hopper was good at sniffing out bullshit. “I think I know where they are headed, come on.” Callahan stammered “Really?” This was not part of the plan. He couldn’t stall them or lead them in wrong direction if Hopper knew where the Shed was located and who were these guys with the Chief? “Ok Chief um who are these guys?” Hopper moved ahead quickly saying “FBI”. Joyce ran up front to talk to Hopper. “Jim what the hell is happening? Talk to me. Are my boys in danger?” Hopper slowed a little saying, “There’s a good chance that the Russians were after Jane and since Will was with her then yeah that’s also a possibility.” “Oh God, please look after my sons” Joyce prayed. It seemed like she was making that prayer more frequently than she liked. Within ten minutes they arrived at the Shed entryway. “Joyce stay here. Powell keep an eye on her.” Hopper barked out. “Hey Chief if you don’t mind, I’ll stay with her.” Hopper knew Callahan had been through a lot and he needed everyone at their best. “Ok fine, listen up, we don’t know what’s going on down there. We know the KGB has interest in this place and they are down there. Check your weapons and get ready, they won’t come out quietly.” Warwick agreed “Yeah out intelligence reports said a Spetnatz team is in this area. Those guys don’t get rattled or go down easy. Make your shots count”. Hopper kissed Joyce and then led the way into the Shed followed by Warwick, his team, and then Crow and Powell.

Pearson was nearing a decision point. His group was being routed. They fell back to the control room as another member of their group fell to the floor in a lifeless heap. Brenner felt utterly helpless. His plans to retrieve Eleven was destroyed. He began to wonder if he would get out alive when he had an epiphany. “There’s an emergency exit past the control room. Not far.” Brenner limped along moving as fast as he could. “Now you mention that? Would’ve been good to know 5 minutes ago.” Pearson retorted. “I just remembered it. Its behind a false wall. There is a button under the desk in the corner to activate the latch” Pearson went to the desk and felt under it feeling a button. Pearson pressed it and heard a panel click and part of the wall swung open. “Stay here I’m going to see if it opens and everything is clear”. Pearson also was looking to escape, Brenner be damned. “There is a ladder so that leads up to a grate which can be moved.” Brenner replied. Pearson stepped into the secret entryway disappearing from Brenner’s sight.  Brenner heard several screams as the Spetnatz cleaved their way into the control room. Vladimir aimed his weapon at Brenner and recognizing him from photos told his team to hold their fire. “Martin Brenner. Rumor had it you were dead. I don’t need to find the girl or anything else. I have the mastermind of the Invictus Initiative himself.” Vladimir moved into the control room. He could scarcely believe his good fortune. Instead of finding the weapon, he found the one who forged the weapon. And now he will make further weapons, but this time for Mother Russia.  “I have this one. Look inside the test chamber and check out that device.” Vladimir pointed towards the psi magnetron as he looked through the control room window.

Two Spetnatz operatives entered the testing chamber to inspect the psi magnetron. Brenner quickly reached and hit a button marked “purge”. He would be damned if they would take any of his work.  The chamber door slammed shut, with vents located in the chamber opening. The two operatives looked around in confusion as flames burst through the vents quickly enveloping the room in a firestorm. Vladimir looked on in horror as his men were burned alive. “Oh Dr. Brenner, I only need you alive. Alive and in excruciating pain works for me.” Vladimir smacked Brenner with his pistol dropping Brenner to the floor, loosening his teeth. As the flames disperse in the chamber and the smoke is sucked back into the vents, the door unlocks and swings open. The remaining Spetnatz operatives look at the control room warily before Vladimir orders them in. The machine was still in one piece, but the metal was still red hot. “Now my good doctor, which leg should I shoot you in?”

Hopper, his officers and the FBI walked into a hallway which was redesigned into a bullet scarred morgue. Bodies and shell casings littered the hall and the air was thick with gun oil and weapon discharge. They slowly made their way down to the second level and saw the operatives standing by a steel door and looking into another room. Warwick looked at Hopper as everyone got into a good firing position. Hopper nodded giving the go ahead. Warwick yelled out in a booming voice “Federal Agents nobody move!” The Spetnatz operatives spin and open fire but do so a millisecond too late. Hopper, his men and the FBI shoot in the group of men striking one and forcing them to walk into the testing chamber for cover. Hopper investigates the control room to see a man holding a ghost at gunpoint. The man fit the description of the one who attacked the Wheelers. “Brenner? Shit everyone said you was dead.” Hopper slowly approached the control room followed by Crow. “I'll kill him. Back up.” Vladimir threatened. “News flash asshole, everyone thinks this prick is dead already. Shoot him and I shoot you. Either way, I go home happy.”  Vladimir made a quick mental calculation, then started to lower his weapon. “Ok police man I surrender.” The Spetnatz operatives drop their weapons as they realize this is one battle they could not win. “Smart move” Hopper murmured. He was a little disappointed in Vladimir’s decision; he was hoping he would take out Brenner so he could dish out some payback for Ted and Karen Wheeler. As he moved in a loud ripping noise came from the hall with a flash of light and a monstrous looking line which looked eerily like a zipper made from pure energy appeared out of thin air. Gusts of air came from the newly formed portal and at seven bodies flew from it.  They were all covered in gore and grime. One looked to be covered in burns and screaming in pain and others were moaning. There was one person in particular moaning a name repeatedly. Hopper heard the voice and ran over to the person. “Jane! Oh my god Jane!” Hopper rolled Jane on her back and was stunned by the sight of her. Her unruly hair was matted down with bits of skin and blood mixed in, her face was covered in cuts, and there was an abundance of dried blood under her nose and lips. The girl looked like she had escaped from the lower depths of hell and fought a war to make it all the way out. “Shh you are going to be ok, I got you Jane.” Hopper said trying to hold back tears. “Mike, Max, Lucas Dustin they're gone " she said her head shaking back and forth as if trying to wake from a vivid dream. "Gone?" Hopper asked. "Dead, they're ALL DEAD!” she screamed before mercifully losing consciousness.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life in the Upside Down and El discovers her power may not save everyone this time

_Once upon a time in the Upside Down_

The Party sat in the remnants of what used to be a McDonalds lost in thought and contemplating their next move. They had been silent since they first discovered the empty gurney that Mike had been in. When they first arrived, the Party was both frantic and excited to find their lost friend but was deflated when he was nowhere to be found. They also had to talk El out of killing Jansen on the spot when she admitted she was one of the ones who put him in that predicament. El had almost telekinetically shoved Jansen through a vine encircled tree. This was probably (more like certainly) the reason Jansen maintained a healthy distance from El as she peered out of the dirty window still favoring her ribs. They had seen little signs of life outside of strange looking bugs and distant screeches which filled the purpled hued sky. Lucas and Max sat huddled together in a booth while Will still tried to console El whose emotions was still raging like a tempest inside of her. Dustin explored the kitchen area, looking into the refrigerator to see if there was any food around. They were quickly running out of supplies, their meager sandwiches they had prepared earlier quickly devoured.

He came out of the kitchen wearing a glum expression. “Nothing in the back. We’re going to have to find some food or water sometime soon.” “Yeah plus we need some clothes, I’m freezing in these trunks.” Lucas said. “Yeah you’re cold alright Stalker” Max said rubbing his legs bringing about both a warm and tingly feeling and earning her a smile in appreciation. Will stood up saying “This place is like home except for the weird sky, and well everything else. So, the Woolworth department store should be near here. We can find some clothes there if we’re lucky.” “Beats sitting around here, let’s move” Jansen said.

Fifteen minutes later the group makes it to the department store, opening the door and looking around before fully entering. The quiet inside the abandoned store was eerie, sending a chill down their collective spines. “Let’s get these clothes” Lucas said, heading over to the boys section as the girls headed to their respective section. Jansen stopped by the hardware department, picking up flashlights and batteries. As Dustin put on some jeans that fit him, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head but didn’t see anything. Dustin walked in between the racks of clothing, moving a row of jackets out of his way; still nothing in sight but now he heard slight scratching noises. Dustin quickly figured this place was getting to him and went back to his friends. Lucas and Will finished putting on jeans and sweaters as Dustin arrived. “Man, this place is killing me, the sooner we split the better” “Calm down Dustin” Lucas admonished. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was seconds away from running out of the door himself. They all froze when they heard scratching noises, louder than when Dustin heard it earlier. “See I knew it! Somethings in here with us!” Dustin said in a frantic whisper. The three boys huddled together walking comically as if they were trying to merge into one person. They heard a familiar snort and snicker as Max couldn’t contain herself and burst out laughing. “You guys ought to see yourself, you look like a living episode of Scooby Doo”. El was behind her wiping a fleck of blood from her nose and wearing a slight smile. “That was just El moving a few of the racks around.” “Oh, very funny Max you scared the shit out of me, Ill admit it.” Dustin grumbled. “Aww Dusty Im sowwy” she said in mocking tone. Max handed them all handkerchiefs “This should help with that shit floating out there. I know it can’t be good to inhale that in.” “Yeah let’s go see what else we can use in here” Will said heading towards other aisles to scavenge.

Jansen filled a backpack she acquired from the camping section with extra clothes and a tool kit filled with screwdrivers and a hammer. She figured she can use the hammer to beat herself in the head for being so dumb as to come to the alternate dimension voluntarily, with no way out. “Hey” Max said, breaking Jansen from her morbid thoughts. Jansen turned to see Max and El standing next to her, El still wearing her typical scowl. Jansen snorted thinking _I don’t need a hammer; this girl will happily make my brains leak out of my ears if given the chance._ “What’s up?” “Just wondering what’s the next move” Max asked. “Right now, kid I am totally out of my element. So, in other words I don’t know. What I DO know is that we got to find a place that has edible food and water. We don’t find that, we’re fuc err ahem screwed”.

The boys walked down the still escalator to the lower level to find the level filled with vines coming through the floor and blocking some of the aisles. Dustin used his flashlight to see what areas were not impeded when he saw something white and somewhat sticky intermingled with the vines. Some of it was on his sneaker and he leaned down for a closer look. Suddenly he heard a growl. Will looked at him saying “I hope that was your stomach man”. Lucas looked at both curiously as Dustin quickly said, “No guys not me”. In the darkness they saw the distant wall inexplicably grow four yellow eyes that glowed hazily and seemed to be moving closer. Dustin’s armed shook horribly as he slowly aimed his flashlight towards the dim glow. A gigantic spider looking creature which covered over half of the wall moved from the wall towards them followed by a dozen smaller spider like creatures. Dustin’s flashlight revealed the four eyes were attached a head that resembled a grizzly bear. All three boys shrieked in horror and ran back up the escalator with the creatures in pursuit.

Jansen heard the screams and immediately pulled out her pistol tell the girls to head for the front door. Lucas and Will moved past them at warp speed with Dustin tripping over his own two feet and crashing across the floor. Jansen aimed her gun and shined her flashlight at the escalator. She initially froze when she saw the smaller creatures but opened fire after a few seconds hitting several of them. Then she heard the roar of the spider-bear, which broke her resolve and forced her to head for the door. As she ran to the door, she saw El standing at the door like a gunslinger with invisible six shooters ready for battle. With a squint of her eyes and an imperceptible nod, the smaller spider creatures were flung backwards with some snapping in half at the velocity in which they were tossed away. El felt the slow trickle of blood from her nose quicken as she used her abilities. When the spider-bear rampaged through the aisles, El raised her right hand and tried to force it back. It slowed for a moment but kept coming. The trickle from El’s nose became a gush as she raised two hands, as if pushing against an unseen wall. El’s nose poured blood as the spider bear came closer with Jansen firing the rest of her clip at the monster to no avail. Suddenly there was a high-pitched whine with the spider-bear roaring in rage and pain before scurrying back inside the department store. Several people in military uniforms moved inside M16s drawn and gas masks covering their faces. El staggered outside the door with the lower half of her face covered with blood. “Shit El, what happened? Are you ok?” Max said catching her before she fell to the ground. Jansen heard what sounded like Humvees pull up behind them. A tall and lanky Soldier clad in gas mask approached her saying “What the hell are you doing out here?” Jansen thought _Funny, I was just wondering the same about you._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LIfe in the Upside Down continues, and with new faces comes new problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is doing well. In case some may have figured out I have added numerous 80's references in the story. Some should be obvious but see how many you can spot?

Colonel Virgil Rhodes was a both a patient and pragmatic man; he had to master patience in order to deal with the conflicting personalities of the 40 or so people still alive inside the laboratory. He also had to be pragmatic in the idea that he may oversee the last bastion of humanity. One thing he did not believe in was coincidence. The sudden appearances of children wandering in the wasteland once known as Hawkins Indiana was certainly connected but he had no idea how they arrived. He was still mulling over the mystery when Dr. Peter Gorman burst into his office. Rhodes rubbed his hands over his ebony complexioned face, hiding an expression of exasperation. _Doesn’t this pompous ass ever knock?_  Gorman walked to his desk with a sense of purpose “I heard there were more people found out there. I told you there had to be others. I request that more soldiers be sent out on patrol immediately to find more survivors.” Gorman leaned against Rhodes desk with his wiry frame slightly budging it. Rhodes shot Gorman a look making the scientist remove his hands from the desk.

Gorman was the chief scientist at the laboratory and often clashed with Rhodes on many of his decisions. Gorman solidified some political clout when he discovered the sonic waves that can repel the creatures that inhabit the Upside Down. This was the main reason why the scientists had a say in the decisions being made. “Look Gorman, I am not going to continue risking my people on a wild goose chase. Give me something concrete and I will investigate it. If you want to go out there looking on your own, feel free to grab a few scientists or some of the workers and go do it yourself.” Gorman leveled a steely gaze at Rhodes with his cerulean blue eyes, muttered something under his breath and stormed out in a huff similarly to the way he entered the office. Rhodes rubbed his hands through his salt and pepper colored hair sighing in frustration. _These goddamn monsters don’t have to kill us, we can manage that all on our own._

Jansen’s mind was reeling at the timely intervention of the soldiers at the abandoned Woolworths. They piled everyone into two vehicles and was making their way back to the laboratory in silence. Jansen gave the soldiers a cover story of them fleeing from an adjacent town to Hawkins. She told them they were the last ones from the town. She figured that sounded far more reasonable than saying they came from another dimension. As they rolled past the disfigured trees with their gnarled branches which looked like tentacles, the visitors saw an austere looking four storied building turned into what appeared to be a fortress. Every window was boarded shut with the front doors being replaced by heavy steel bunker type doors. Lucas thought the doors could withstand a missile strike. The bunker doors slid open upon their approach and several heavily armed soldiers came out to provide security. Jansen and the Party were all hurried inside the building with the doors slamming shut, not unlike a prison door. One of the soldiers that rescued them gave them instructions on where they could grab some cots in order to get some rest. Jansen looked at the soldier gratefully “Thanks SGT Hicks, for all of the help.” “No problem. I’m going to leave you in the capable hands of Mrs. Rodriguez who will show where to bed down for tonight. Plus, we will have someone give the girl something for her nosebleeds.  I’m sure you all are exhausted so we will talk later.”

Luciana Rodriguez took the hungry and tired group on an impromptu tour of the facility. The interior of the facility looked as if war was waged inside of it.  Lights flickered throughout the halls and the floor tiles were chipped and heavily damaged. Streaks of dark brown stood out against the off-white color of the walls in some areas. Jansen knew those were bloodstains but kept that information to herself. No need to make these kids even more jittery or depressed. They passed by several labs in route to the elevator. One of those labs had a familiar face; “Professor Clarke?” Dustin asked in amazement. The rest of the Party hurried to the lab to see their old science teacher giving them a curious look. Clarke sported a nasty scar which ran down the left side of his face. “Oh my god sir what are you doing here?” Will asked. Clarke face contorted into a frown as he suddenly screamed “Who the fuck are all of you and what are you doing in here? “he shrieked. Looking at Max he said, “Can’t you see I’m fucking busy? Get the fuck out of here this instant!” The kids were stunned beyond belief as they quickly fled the lab room. “What happened?  Why was he yelling?  Well, yelling louder than usual anyway” Luciana asked. “Just wanted to say hello” Max replied. A minute later the elevator let them out on the basement level. Luciana explained there were two more sub-levels, but they were off limits. She didn’t explain why but from her serious tone and demeanor they guessed something bad happened down there.

The Party walked into the open bay which served as a sleeping area for the majority of the personnel in the facility. They saw rows of bunks and cots lining the bay. It resembled a refugee camp more than a sleeping area. Luciana pointed towards a stack of cots saying, “Grab those and some blankets from that pile in the corner and grab some space.” The Party slowly trudged along with their cots looking to find a spot large enough for them to be together when they saw a welcoming sight. Walking in between a row of bunks was none other than Mike Wheeler. Will took off at a dead sprint almost tackling his best friend. “Mike!” Lucas yelled. The Party all converged on their lost friend hugging him tightly. They all parted when El approached him slowly suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace. “Mike, I thought I lost you” she said with tears beginning to flow down her cheeks. “You know you guys can’t get rid of me that easily.” Mike said hugging her back. As the Party peppered him with questions of what happened to him, Mike suddenly recoiled, pointing a finger angrily at Jansen. “What the hell is she doing here? She kidnapped me!” “We know man, but she helped us out. Saved our lives even.” Lucas answered. “Hey kid, I know you don’t like me, and I can’t blame you for that. But Brenner went too far. There’s nothing I can do to take it back, but I can help keep you safe.” Jansen looked at the floor with a sense of exasperation; this is one of the few times she’s ever come to uttering anything remotely like an apology.

A familiar voice sounded off behind them, “You have got to be shitting me, what the hell are you shits doing here?” Dustin turned towards the voice in surprise, “Steve?” “In the flesh, and why am I acting shocked to see you here? Where there is one of you, the rest is bound to turn up.” The group then saw Nancy and Jonathan with the latter groaning in disbelief. “Will? Ah damn.” Will looked at him sheepishly as he waved at him. Steve headed towards the hallway outside of the sleeping bay. “Let’s head somewhere with a little more privacy.” As the group left the sleeping bay area someone who overheard bits of their conversation emerged from under the covers and looked in the direction in which they headed off in.  The group walked the halls until they found an empty conference room where they quickly ducked inside. Steve addressed the others, “Ok I think we can talk a little more freely here”. The conversation went as expected with questions as to how everyone arrived in the parallel dimension. Steve explained how the portal mysteriously appeared in the woods and that soon as they arrived in the Upside Down, they were approached by the soldiers. Mike had a similar story with the soldiers finding him on the gurney. “So, the patrols were out there looking for something when they found you. The question is what were they looking for?” Dustin queried. “Beats me” Jonathan replied. “I think might have an answer,’ Mike said. “When Brenner sent me here, he mentioned someone called Three. I never saw her, but I think her abilities are make him nervous. She may be the one responsible for the portals.” “Well for now I think its best we stick with the whole “strangers from another area” routine, I don’t think anyone here can handle visitors from another dimension right now. Or that they would believe it.” Jansen said. “We also have to figure out what’s up with El’s powers” Will said. Mike flinched slightly and pulled himself away from El who was standing next to him clutching hand tightly. “What’s wrong with your powers El?” “I don’t know Mike, but its harder to focus here.” El replied. “Yeah its like using her abilities here takes more of a toll.” Will said. Max leaned into Lucas’s arms saying, “I say we get whatever passes for food around here and try to figure out how do we get back home.” The group all agreed and made their way back to the sleeping area to ask about food, but as they left the conference room, they failed to notice a person hurriedly racing around a corner. _Parallel universes, powers, who the hell are these new people? If they come from another dimension, one that’s alive and thriving, that’s the answer to our prayers! We can leave this hellhole._ The person slid down the wall to the floor as the last realization struck: _One of them looks just like me!_

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike questions his relationship with Eleven and trouble is brewing at the lab in the Upside Down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay folks. I have an idea on how many chapters this will be and I think 25 is a good enough number to end on. So thats the plan. Now onto the story.

You haven’t listened! None of you have listened for months! “Dr. Gorman said slamming his fist on the conference room table for emphasis. “We all saw the signs: the storms, strange weather patterns, the sudden eruption of wildfires and we just sat back and ignored everything! “The table seemed as if it was a barrier holding two opposing factions at bay. On one side were the Soldiers with Colonel Rhodes in the middle flanked by his officers and his enlisted troops; Captain Ryan Tolliver his second in command (after the death of the well-liked Major Franklin), Lieutenant Roderick James, Sergeant Hicks, and Corporal Maurice Miller. On the opposite side sat Gorman, Dr. Clarke, Dr. Tyus Timmons and Dr Jonah Hellickson. Gorman continued “I think with our latest find things have changed. The girl is unlike anything I have ever seen. She was radiating power when they found her. And if she exists maybe there are others out there. I mean nature loves balance, right? Maybe this nature’s way of trying to even the score.” Rhodes’  mind focused on the mysterious girl with the strange tattoo on her left wrist. She had been found by a patrol several hours ago and was certainly the cause of the power surges the scientists had been trying to locate. Rhodes knew that the recent additions to their little community was more than a coincidence, but he didn’t know how the pieces of this particular puzzle fitted together. Tolliver spoke interrupting Rhodes’ musings. “Well Doc, you can go look for as many people as you want but without food, you may as well be inviting them to a slightly safer death. We need you to work on trying to cultivate that soil a little harder. “Miller snorted saying “Hey if we run out of food, I know who I’m eating first” staring at the stout Dr Timmons. There were a few chuckles in the room mixed with a nervous silence; Miller looked a little too sincere. Rhodes stood up from the table “I want answers Gorman, run every test on her short of dissection. I DO want you to dissect that machine that was attached to her. Also get the other kid that was on a gurney and have him meet me in the infirmary. Plus fix our food problem.  “Gorman and the other scientists wordlessly got up and left the conference room.

Dustin sat at the table in the dining area picking at his Meals Ready to Eat bag. The MRE’s had an almost unlimited shelf life but the some of the flavors left a lot to be desired. When dinner time came there was no choices on what a person received. The staff handed it to a person and they walked away. Any trades came later, and no one was too fond of the Spaghetti and Meatballs pack.  Dustin looked up as a familiar face plopped down in a chair across from him. “Hey Dustin, whats up?” Steve said shaking out the contents of his Chicken Breast MRE. “What you get this time?” Dustin showed him his MRE which Steve shook his head at; “Damn man I heard that thing tastes like Italian flavored shit.” “Gee man thanks for that” Steve looked up at young friend asking “You ok? I mean besides from the obvious” Dustin voice trembled as he spoke: “I don’t know man, you think we’re gonna make it out of here? I mean we don’t know how those portals opened. We think its that girl Mike was talking about but what if she never wakes up? I may never see my mom or Yurtle again. You know what? I almost chickened out in coming to find Mike. Something told me to just walk away and let Chief Hopper do something about it. What kind of friend am I? Mike jumped off a cliff for me, a freaking cliff! I wouldn’t have done that for nobody. What do I bring to this group? Nothing! Just a bunch of dumb jokes.” Dustin’s head hung lower as his eyes became watery with unshed tears. Steve paused for a second before speaking, “Man if you don’t stop sitting there feeling sorry for yourself, I will come across this table and smack the shit out of you.” Dustin’s head snapped up “What?” “C’mon man what was that bullshit you always say? If someone in the Party needs assistance, then you must give it? So, you’re scared. Believe it or not I’m scared shitless man but sitting here crying about it isn’t gonna fix it. Look we are all here and when you put us all together good things happen. We WILL figure this shit out and get out of here. There’s plenty of girls back home that need to get their Stevie fix” Dustin groaned “Stevie fix? Oh God we’re doomed”. “Ok my point is you got us man. Its ok to feel some doubt or whatever but don’t let it eat you alive. Keep your shit together”. Dustin smiled a little saying “Well it would help my mental state if you swapped MREs with me”. Steve laughed “Not a chance, but nice try though” he said as he began to eat. “Ill give you my pound cake how about that?” Dustin grabbed the pound cake before Steve could change his mind; those things actually tasted good! “Greedy little shit” Steve muttered. Luciana stopped at their table with a pretty girl who looked just like her. “Hey, you two, how you are you settling in?”  “Pretty good” Steve responded slyly glancing at the girl. “Oh, this is my daughter Marlena” Luciana said with a smirk. Dustin took one look at Steve’s face and shook his head; _this guy is hopeless._

Eleven stood by Mike’s cot wondering what in the hell was wrong with him. He barely touched her since reuniting, often pulling away from even holding hands. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on Mike?” Mike gave her a pensive look, started to speak, but seemed to think better of it. Mike turned and tried to walk away from her but felt a slight tug as if an invisible hand was grabbing his shirt. He knew he couldn’t break out of Eleven’s telekinetic grasp and turned towards her. The look on her face nearly broke his heart but he had to remain strong; besides none of it was real. This was all some sort of bad joke fueled by El’s powers (or so Mike thought). El wiped a thin stream of blood from her nose. “El none of it is real. Our feelings, maybe even your whole relationship with all of us, was because of your powers” he hissed. El looked dumbfounded; _what the hell is he talking about_? “What does my powers have to do with this? You think I tricked you all into liking me?” she said, her voice trembling slightly. Mike spoke quickly: “No I don’t think you did it intentionally. Brenner told me about how it happened, and I thought he was lying at first” “He was! Papa lies all the time” El interjected. “No just wait, think about it, how did you get out of that lab? Why did they help you? Why did WE help you? “Mike asked. “Maybe you helped because you cared. They helped me because they knew Papa was wrong. I can’t believe you would think I tricked you or set you up to like me. You all are the family I have never had. Papa found a way to ruin this for me too. And you let him! “El let go of her invisible grip on Mike. “You can leave now” she said as tears streamed down her face. Mike wordlessly turned and headed towards the dining facility.

Lucas and Will were finishing their meal (they avoided the dreaded Spaghetti and Meatballs MRE thanks to Max volunteering to hand out the MREs thus sparing them both) when Mike saw them and made his way over. Seeing the crestfallen look on Mike’s face gave them both pause. “Damn Mike who pissed in your corn flakes?” Lucas asked. “Hey guys did you ever stop and think about why we helped El? Do you think maybe we didn’t have any choice?” Mike countered. Will looked at his best friend intently. “What are you talking about? El didn’t trick anyone.”  “Maybe not you Will, you were stuck in this hellhole but Lucas, you were against her at first. You told us to tell our parents and was gonna tell them yourself until she stopped you.” Lucas gave Mike a look of exasperation saying, “Yeah I wasn’t too high on her but I was wrong man. She came through for us when it counted. Where is this coming from?” Mike told them what Dr. Brenner told him. “How can we say for sure that she didn’t use her abilities to influence us? Now I’m not saying she did it on purpose, but what if she couldn’t control it?” Will looked at Mike as if he grew a third eye; “Dude, that girl went through hell looking for you, she put herself at risk for you. We all did. I don’t think the way she feels about is some sort of super powered hypnosis”. At that moment two soldiers approached the table. “Wheeler? You need to come with us to the infirmary. Colonel Rhodes wants to see you.” Sergeant Hicks said.

The nurse continued to take hourly readings from her new patient. She looked angelic laying on the bed sleeping soundly her blonde hair flowing down to her shoulders, her chest rising and falling with each breath. The nurse changed her into a fresh gown, discarding the filthy one she arrived in. The nurse and other medical personnel were stunned to see the needle marks in her arm and neck, wondering what the purpose of that hellish machine was that she was attached to.  As the nurse prepared to change her saline bag, she heard a slight moan from the bed. The nurse moved in closer, happy that whatever was in her system was flushed out enough for the girl to wake up. The girl eyes slowly opened, revealing a pretty set of green eyes. “Hey there little lady, how are you?” The girl started to become agitated trying to roll off the bed as the nurse grabbed her. “Hang on now, you need to lay back down” she said grabbing a needle from a container and loading it with a mild sedative; _just a little something to calm her a bit_ she thought. As she prepared the needle, the soldiers brought Mike in as all three were surprised to see Three awake and moving. “No needles, please put that down” she said softly. “It’s a mild sedative miss, now just hold still” Three shuddered once, moaning “No you mustn’t do that, she won't like it” The nurse paused, utterly confused. _Who won't like it?_ Three laid back against the bed and her eyes closed. A jolt of static electricity seemed to fill the infirmary, stopping when Three opened her eyes again. The nurse did a double take as she looked into ice blue eyes that took the place of the green ones she saw earlier. Looking down at the needle and back at the nurse Three said almost in a whisper “Who the hell are you and where is Father?”  “Excuse me?” the nurse responded. With a squint of her eyes, the needle meant for her suddenly plunged into the nurse’s neck. With a slight flick of her left wrist the nurse hit flew into the infirmary wall with a sickening thud. Private Malone raised his M16, not knowing how foolish a decision that was. Three stared at the weapon and suddenly it began to warp and bend around Malones wrists becoming so hot that it seared his hands before seemingly disintegrating from existence along with his hands. Malone screamed as the blood spurted from the wound, making the floor slippery. Mike and Sergeant Hicks looked on in disbelief as Three smiled at Malone with a maniacal gleam, her blue eyes beaming with intensity. “You actually pulled a gun on me?” she asked incredulously. Malone felt the bones in his legs shatter as he seemingly became shorter. It looked as if a giant invisible compactor was crushing him down to the floor. Two bones jutted out next to his shoulder blades and Mike made the horrifying realization that the bones were Malones kneecaps. Malone (or what used to be Malone) stopped screaming as his throat exploded outward. Within seconds there was a pulpy mass of flesh and bone, mixed with bloody scraps of cloth on the floor. Three wiped the blood from her nose as she levitated out of the bed, slightly hovering above the floor before speaking in a slightly British accent. “Now I’m going to ask you again; where is Father? You can’t keep him hidden from me. I will find him and make him suffer for what he did to me. The question is how would you like your deaths to be? Painful or painless?”  Mike and Hicks were immobilized as Three floated towards them. “Anything to say?” she asked in a mocking tone. A voice came from behind them saying “Maybe they don’t have anything to say, but I do. Put Mike down. Now.” Three found the origin of the voice, locking eyes with a very angry Eleven. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three and Eleven get "acquainted" Nancy learns that tempers inside the lab are at a tipping point.

_A few minutes earlier_

Eleven walked through the laboratory enraged. _Papa ruins everything! I won’t let him turn Mike and my friends, no, more than friends... my family against me._ El made her way to the dining facility where she saw Lucas and Will sitting at one of the tables. Will saw the look on El’s face and braced himself. He knew that look and it meant “tread lightly”. El sat down and asked pointedly: “Do you two think I tricked you into liking me? You know I would never do anything like that! You have to believe me!” Will grabbed her hands and told El earnestly “El calm down, we don’t think you tricked us, Mike told us about what Brenner told him and I think he’s way off on this.” Lucas summed it up succinctly “Your boyfriend is an idiot, but I know he likes you. And you have more than proved yourself to us, so you don’t have to worry. Now go find that genius and talk some sense to him.  Smack some sense into him if you have to.” El gave a small smile, “Yeah I think I will, hey where is he anyway?”  “He was escorted to the infirmary by some soldiers.” Will said. El thanked them both and headed to the infirmary; she wanted to talk to Mike but was also curious about the girl they found, another “sister” of hers.

El approached the infirmary door when she heard a scream and strange lights flickering inside the room. She heard a voice ask if someone had anything to say. El burst into the room to see Mike and Sergeant Hicks immobilized, hovering in the air slightly and the floor awash in blood, hair and cloth. El didn’t have to time to register anything else except Mike was in danger. She walked towards the levitating girl in the hospital gown ordering her to put Mike down. Three looked at her and chuckled “Oh really, and who might you be?” Three slammed the infirmary doors shut behind El and charged the doors with electricity. “I hate being disturbed, especially when I have so many questions to ask.”.

Colonel Rhodes was in his office when the he heard the alarm go off and a voice on the loudspeaker. “All available security personnel to the infirmary. I repeat all available security personnel to the infirmary!” _Oh shit._ Rhodes grabbed his service weapon; a 45-caliber pistol and made his way to the infirmary. He prayed the situation was not too far out of control. What he saw when he got there was beyond anyone’s control or his imagination.

Nancy, Jonathan and Steve saw the military personnel take off running down the halls towards the infirmary and immediately felt a sense of dread. As they considered following the soldiers to see what was happening Nancy saw a group of people walking towards one of the soldiers who did not go to the infirmary. She noticed them grab the soldier and quietly go around a corner. Being ever so nosy, Nancy walked quickly towards a spot where she can listen in on the conversation. “Listen we don’t have much time” one of the men said. “We are running out of food and we know what happens when it comes to choosing who eats and who doesn’t. Civilians like us are shit out of luck. They need the scientists, but we’re just dead weight.” The soldier tried to assure the man, “No listen Colonel Rhodes wouldn’t do that. I have confidence that he will look out for everyone; military and civilians.” Another voice stopped him “I’m glad you got confidence, but I don’t give a damn about how you feel; you gonna let us get some of those weapons or not. Because if we have to go through you, we will and then we will take all of the weapons. Your call.” The soldier acquiesced, “Fine come with me, Ill take you to the storage area no one goes to. Take just enough to protect yourselves, got it?”  The first voice replied “Hey as the saying goes, don’t start no shit and there won’t be no shit. Oh, and word to the wise, you better watch Captain Tolliver; rumor has it he’s gunning for the command spot.” The soldier gave a chilling response “If that guy takes over, you may as well head outside and wait to get eaten by those things. I think he would happily get rid of all of you.”  Nancy strained to hear further as the group headed to the storage area. She jumped when Jonathan tapped her on the shoulder “So Nancy Drew, what’s going on?” Nancy gave him a worried look “Trouble and a lot of it.” Nancy proceeded to tell Jonathan and Steve what she heard. No sooner than she spoke than the lights shined brighter for a moment, flickered, then went out entirely before the emergency lights switched back on. All three ran to the infirmary.

 

El felt pressure and pain unlike any she had ever experienced before. She struggled to move as Three hovered in front of her cackling maniacally. “I’m afraid I can’t hear you luv, do speak up” Three said, taunting the dark-haired girl. El felt sweat trickle down her face as she summoned her energy and focused outward, moving the pressure off her. The telekinetic shove surprised Three giving El a small opening; El looked at the bar which held the saline bag and made it fly into Three’s head making a loud clanging noise as it made contact with her skull. Three released all three from her mental grip as she tried to recover, but El wasn’t about to give her that chance.  El raised her left hand moving it side to side, Three’s body slammed into the wall on her left then flew into the one to her right, El lifted her hand upwards propelling Three into the ceiling. As Three’s limp form fell to the floor, she suddenly spread her arms out and stopped mere inches away from the floor. El saw Three telekinetically push herself from the floor and back into a standing position with blood streaming from her nose. El began to feel nervous. There was no way she can continue to fight Three and win; she was already exhausted. Three eyes appeared to light up as raw power surged through her. With a scream she charged across the bloody floor her bare feet pitter pattering towards El thrusting both arms out, with pure energy pouring from her hands, El used her remaining energy fueled by adrenaline and with a yell she blocked the energy resulting in a jolt to both girls which repelled them from each other and causing the lights inside the room to explode. El slammed into the infirmary door while Three landed into the bed. El through her painful haze heard people pounding on the door and yelps of pain as they tried to open it. El had one last act of defiance. She looked at the bed Three crashed in and telekinetically flipped it over. _My name is Jane…… bitch_.

From under the bed there was a chuckle which soon became laughter. The bed which laid on Three flipped back into its upright position with Three struggling to her feet. “That’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time luv, thank you for that. Oh, I’m afraid your face is an absolute mess.” El staggered to her feet, looked Three in the eyes and said “Have you looked in the mirror? “which resulted in a loud guffaw from Three “I like you, and I think you have some of the answers I’m looking for. I take it you know Father.” El answered “Yes, I certainly do”.

Rhodes had never seen anything like it; the door was sealed shut and electrified. Any soldier that touched it received a painful jolt. Then suddenly the lights went out and Rhodes throat went dry. No power meant no sonic emitters, and no sonic emitters meant the creatures outside can now approach the lab and try to get in. Rhodes ran grabbed some of his men and raced to the main entry yelling “someone get the power back on!” In the distance he heard screams and the roar of the creatures as they started to breach the barricades on the lab and make their way inside.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Three have a discussion about Dr Brenner and Colonel Rhodes runs into trouble from elements both inside and outside of the lab.

The hallway was thick with smoke and the smell of weapon discharge and the sounds of wounded soldiers slowly dying on the cold floor of the laboratory. Colonel Rhodes gritted his teeth as he fired rounds from his 45-caliber pistol; his dwindling number of troops had to hold the line for a little bit longer. The swarm of Demodogs continued to burst through the battered steel door pouncing on the wounded, silencing their moans for eternity. Rhodes grabbed a M16 that was dropped by one of the unfortunate soldiers.  _For Gods sake that generator needs to come back on!_ Rhodes fired his weapon repeatedly down the hall as he stood shoulder to shoulder with his troops. He felt a sense of pride knowing that his men did their duty; no one cut and ran. Rhodes saw a shadow on the ceiling, and with a sense of dread started firing at the ceiling, feeling the rain of plaster and bits of the ceiling rain down on his head. He saw a bullet riddled creature fall from the ceiling at his feet, giving him both jitters and a sense of relief. “Sir look out!” came a voice through the confusion and haze. Rhodes looked down to see a Demodog pounce, striking him in the chest and knocking the wind out of Rhodes. Rhodes staggered backwards as the Demodog struck him again, this time knocking Rhodes to the floor. Rhodes felt the slimy neck of the beast, as he tried to get a grasp but to no avail. Rhodes said a silent prayer and prepared himself for the worse when suddenly the creature slowly levitated in the air off of him, followed by a roar which blasted the Demodog’s head off. Sergeant Hicks stood over him with a double-barreled shotgun “I keep these for close encounters sir” he said offering his hand to Rhodes. As Rhodes grabbed it, he heard the familiar whine of the generators kicking back on and the sonic devices being reactivated. In short order the creatures all turned and fled the facility as fast as possible.

  _Better late than never I guess; I also need to know why that damn thing started to fly._  Rhodes thought with a grim smile. He turned to look at the remaining soldiers, “Ok people, I need damage assessments ASAP. Get the wounded to the infirmary, and get that damn door sealed!” Rhodes felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and as he put his hand to his side, he noticed the look of alarm on his soldiers faces. “Sir, I think you need to sit down and let the doctors look at you.” Rhodes felt a warm and sticky substance and he knew what it was without looking. He gathered the courage to look down and immediately knew that was a poor decision. As the blood seeped through his fingers, he saw a tube-like substance brush his fingers. Rhodes realized he was holding his intestines as the hallway became blurry and his vision faded. _Shit, the damn thing must have gutted me_ Rhode _s_ thought before collapsing in a heap. 

Eleven could barely stand but somehow mustered enough strength to telekinetically shove the demodog off Colonel Rhodes. Her vision became blurry and she leaned against the skinny form of Mike as she tried to gain her bearings. Mike held her close as he looked into her eyes, “El take it easy, you’re losing a lot of blood. Using your powers here is making you bleed faster.” El reached up to touch the crimson pouring from her nose as she also looked down at her shirt which was covered in blood. She took some grim satisfaction and solace in the fact that Three felt as bad as she did. El recalled seeing Three struggle to stand as Mike helped her to her feet and Hicks ran out to help against the invading creatures. “Mike! El!” the duo turned their heads to see Lucas, Will and Dustin running towards them. “Damn what the hell happened to you?” Lucas inquired glancing at El. “She saved me. The girl in they found out there is crazy. She literally crushed a guy in front of my face.” Nancy, Steve and Jonathan appeared hearing the last part. “Figures that chick wouldn’t be sane. Our luck just aint that good” Steve opined. Jansen broke through the crowd in the hall “Hey guys everyone ok? Goddamn girl what the hell happened to your face?” El gave Jansen a look that gave the operative chills. “Forget I asked. Let’s get somewhere that’s less crowded.”

 A few minutes later, the group made their way to the dining area where they all shared a table. They heard a familiar voice ring out as they settled in “What happened?” Max said as she sat down next to El. “Max where the hell you been? I looked for you earlier and couldn’t find you” Lucas said. “I was in the storeroom helping them arrange some supplies. What happened?” Lucas filled her in on the incident while Nancy spoke about the possible coup attempt. Jansen spoke after Nancy finished: “This shit just gets better and better doesn’t it? We have a coup attempt, a psycho bitch that could kill us all on a whim and little supplies left. Hell going outside don’t seem that bad. At least you don’t have to wonder if the creatures want to kill you or not.” Jansen muttered.   “We need to find out how to get back home and fast.” Jonathan replied. Mike breathed in deeply as he analyzed the situation. “Only person that has the key to get out of here is the crazy one. We’re going to have to talk to her, like it or not.”  “Ill do it, we have a lot to talk about” El said in a soft voice rising from the table and slowly heading towards the corridor.

Mike watched El go with a wistful expression which did not go unnoticed by Will. “What are you doing?” Mike looked at his best friend “What do you mean?” “Man, you know what I mean. How long are you going to keep freezing El out? You still think she’s making you like her?” Mike replied angrily: “You think I want to hurt her? I don’t okay? But what if isn’t real? I don’t know. I just don’t know.” Jansen stood up “Hate to break up the soap opera here, but we got more pressing shit here. We need to stay close to each other. If this attempted coup is for real, we’re going to have serious issues. I for one don’t plan on getting killed by these clowns so we need to get some intel.” “I’ll see what I can do. I can talk to Marlena and see what she knows.”  “Uh huh I’m sure that’s the only reason you want to talk to Marlena” Lucas said with a smile. “So, it has fringe benefits, I’m cool with that” Steve said as he sauntered away to find Marlena. “I need to find Hicks and see if I can sweet talk him into getting my gun back. Everyone needs to be careful” Jansen said as she prepared to leave the teenagers. “I got a feeling this is only going to get worse.”

El walked down the hall seeing the lights flicker as if typing out Morse code. She was a walking maelstrom of despair, anger, and desperation. The last person she wanted to talk to was the blond-haired monster sitting in the lab room guarded by two soldiers. One of the soldiers stopped her “I’m sorry young lady this room is off limits. You need to head back the other way.” El gave the youthful looking man a look, then watched as Sergeant Hicks walked up to the sentry “At ease Gentry, let her in. Its not as if you could stop her. If she wants to get in, she will.” Hicks turned to El with a pensive look “Try not to tear up this room too and try not to get dead”. El smiled tossing a mock salute and walked in. El saw Three strapped to the bed wearing an amused expression. “About time you made it in luv. I was thinking I had to leave the lovely confines of me room and come looking for you. That wouldn’t be good for anyone in this place.”  “What do want to know?” El said, standing ready for battle once again; just in case. Sensing her rising anxiety Three chuckled saying “Easy there, I just want to know about our dear Father, where is he now, I wish to pay him a visit. And how did you end up with him?’ El told her how she was raised by “Papa”, her subsequent escape, and how she met her extended family. “During one of Papa’s experiments I saw a creature from this dimension; we call it the Upside Down. We’re trying to find out a way to get home and we think you are the key. I know this is hard to believe but its true.” Three took a deep breath looked at her restraints and watched them pop off her slim form. “Damn things are so tight” she said flexing her wrists. “And yes, I know we are in the Upside Down. You think you were the first person Father has sent here?”

Colonel Rhodes awakened in the infirmary looking at IV lines protruding out of his arm and tubes going into his nose. He also felt a sharp and consistent pain in his stomach. Rhodes slid his hand down and felt the bandage. He tried to move his arm and felt like he was moving underwater. _Those are some hellacious drugs they’re pumping into me_ he thought. Rhodes attention was drawn to a movement at the door. Rhodes saw the face and although his vision was blurred, he recognized the visitor. “Don’t try to speak” the voice said. “I just wanted to thank you for the hard work and effort you put into keeping us alive. It won’t be forgotten.” Rhodes was confused for a moment until he saw a syringe appear in the visitor’s hand and then he knew what was about to happen. Worst of all he was powerless to stop it.  “Rest easy now Colonel, let someone else take over.” The needle entered the IV tube causing an air bubble which would quickly end Rhodes life. If Rhodes could scream, he would have but since he couldn’t, he slowly succumbed to the fate that is inevitable to every living being. Deep down Rhodes felt a sense of relief. He didn’t have to deal with angry professors, dejected civilians and a rampaging horde of monsters trying to break in anymore. He laughed softly and embraced oblivion as the visitor walked out of the infirmary.

 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tolliver upsets the status quo and Dustin makes a new acquaintance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay folks. I hope everyone is enjoying season three!!

“What made you think you were the only one Father has sent here? This shithole has been an obsession of his for some time” Three said with a sardonic smile. Eleven stared at her for a moment with realization slowly settling in. Of course, Papa has sent another person prior to her. That’s a known trick of his; the ability to manipulate feelings and make a vulnerable young girl feel important and that her task was something only she can do. El felt like a fool and Three gave her a semi empathetic look. “Don’t beat yourself up over it luv. Its what he does. In a way I must thank him before I kill him. Without him pushing us to visit this place I probably wouldn’t exist.”  “What do you mean?” El asked. “Coming here was too much for the weakling, she needed someone strong to take over and that’s what I do. I do the things that need to be done. Whether its killing someone or just hurtin them a little bit, I’m the one that handles it.” Three yawned then continued, “I’m tired. Is that all you have to say?” El looked at her with a look of utter confusion. _What does she mean we? Who was this weakling she spoke of?_ El left the room without saying a word and immediately bumped into a medic that was running to the room a few doors down. El heard loud voices coming from the room, but one phrase caught her attention: _Rhodes is dead!_

“Listen up people. I regret to inform you all that at 0145 Colonel Rhodes passed away from his injuries.” Captain Tolliver said his face an expressionless mask. The small auditorium was packed with almost all the survivors listening intently to the words of the new commander of the Hawkins laboratory. “He was a helluva soldier and he will be missed.” Tolliver said as he tried to adopt a mournful look which he failed miserably at. “We will continue to keep going. We will find a way to survive. All previous orders have been rescinded. I need to speak to the science team in ten minutes in the main briefing room.” Murmurs rippled throughout the auditorium “What do you mean rescinded?” a voice rang out. It was one of the civilians. Tolliver looked at him with an almost serene expression. “No need to worry. Everything will be done with the good of our little community in mind.” “Bullshit! It’s a well-known secret you don’t think too highly of us. If we’re not soldiers or scientists, you could care less!” There were louder murmurs. Tolliver walked over to the man in the crowd. “What’s your name again?” “Martinez, Hugo Martinez” the man said stepping towards Tolliver. Martinez was slightly taller than Tolliver at 6 foot 2 and his burly frame was visually imposing. He stood his ground albeit with a sense of uncertainty. Tolliver lowered his voice to almost a whisper “Settle down, or we will settle you down. We clear?” Martinez went nose to nose with Tolliver. “You better get more backup cause I don’t think you have what it takes, asswipe.” Tolliver quickly jabbed Martinez in the throat with the ridge of his right-hand leaving Martinez gasping for air. Soldiers in the auditorium had their weapons at the ready, scanning the crowd. Tolliver quickly swept the legs from under Martinez slamming him to the floor. “Preston and Mullens, get over here! Take this guy to the detention area.” Two soldiers came over to comply with the order. Tolliver straightened out his uniform “Does anyone else have anything else to say? No? Then you are free to leave.”  From a corner of the room Jensen witnessed the incident and mentally planned for the worst. She glanced at Sergeant Hicks who shared her worried expression. This was about to get bad real fast.

Dustin walked the corridors wondering what the hell was he doing. If anyone ever asked him why he decided to pay Three a visit he couldn’t give an answer. Maybe he empathized with her since he felt like an outsider most of the time. The smart one who everyone laughed at. The one nobody took seriously. He looked different since he suffered from cranial dysplasia. _Sometimes weirdos need some company_ , he thought as he approached Three’s medical quarters/holding cell. As Dustin went to open the door, he saw his hand shake before making contact. _Here goes nothing._ Dustin slowly peeked his head into the room. He heard a quivering voice come from the direction of the bed “Hello? Is someone there?” Dustin approached her bed, grinning sheepishly. “Um hi there, er you don’t know me but, well of course you don’t know me, you don’t read minds or um do you read minds? “Three’s eyebrows raised comically as Dustin both spoke and muttered to himself. “No, I don’t have that particular talent. Not that I know of any way”.  Dustin exhaled “Let me start over, my name is Dustin. Pleasure to meet you” Dustin shoved his hand out rather stiffly. Three grasped his hand “Hello Dustin. My name is…... well I’m called Three.  I guess my main is question is why are you here? “ _Son of a bitch! She would have to ask the one question I don’t have an answer to._

The prisoner screamed as loud as possible. Pushing on the door, the prisoner felt a sense of desperation and despair all at once. _It was like looking into a damn mirror!_  It was so stunning that when the prisoner was restrained and carried away the prisoner could not make a sound. The prisoner heard a voice say “You can scream as much as you want, no one comes down to the lower levels. Look I’m sorry but I overheard you talking a few days ago when you first arrived. You are not from here and you all have an idea on how to get out of here. Ill try to send someone back for you if I can. Please forgive me! I… I’m not a bad person, but I am desperate. There is food in the corner. It should last you for a while.” The prisoner heard footsteps slowly fade away, to be followed by another sound which sent a chill down the prisoner’s spine. Something was moving inside of the walls and the prisoner swore something growled.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
